קפי, קָפָא, קָפָה (b. h.) [to bend, arch, be arched,] 1) to be on top, float on the surface. Part. pass. קָפוּי; f. קְפוּיָה; pl. קְפוּיִים, קְפוּיִין; קְפוּיוֹת light of weight. Pes. 50ᵃ (ref. to יקרות וקפאון, Zech. XIV, 6) אור שיקר בעוה"ז ק׳ הוא וכ׳ Ms. M. (ed. וק׳) light which is weighty (precious, rare) in this world shall be light (little esteemed, an ordinary thing) in the world to come; ib. נגעים … וקפויין וכ׳ (Ms. M. קפויות) the treatises Negaim and Oholoth, which are heavy (difficult, obscure) in this world, shall be light (easily understood) &c., ib. אלו בני אדם … (ו)ק׳ הם וכ׳ those who are weighty (important on account of their wealth, though otherwise without merit) in this world, shall be light (disregarded) &c.; Yalk. Zech. 583. —2) to coagulate, be curdled. Gen. R. s. 4 כיון שירד … מיד הוא קוֹפֵא ועומד ed. Wil. (oth. ed. קוֹפֶה) as soon as a drop of m’so (v. מְסוֹ) is put in, the milk curdles and ‘stands’ (v. עָמַד); ib. s. 14 קופה (ed. Wil. קָפוּי); Lev. R. s. 14 נִקְפָּא. Tanḥ. B’shall. 17; Mekh. ib., Shirah, s. 6 קפא עליהם וכ׳ the sea around them was congealed as far as &c.; Yalk. Ex. 248 נִקְפָּה; a. e.—[Tosef. Maasr. I, 7, v. infra.]
    Pi. - קִיפָּה to skim, take off the scum and the substances that gather on wine when it begins to ferment. Maasr. I, 7 היין משיְקַפֶּה אע"פ שקי׳ וכ׳ Y. ed. (Bab. and Mish. ed. שקִפָּה) wine is subject to tithes when the manufacturer begins to skim; but although he has skimmed, he may take &c.; Tosef. ib. I, 7 אע"פ שקופה ed. Zuck. (Var. שקיפה); Ab. Zar. 56ᵃ; Y. B. Mets. VII, beg. 11ᵇ; [Maim. to Maasr. l. c. seems to read משיִקְפֶּה, expl. to form scum]. Tosef. l. c. שולה וקופה ed. Zuck. (Var. שילה וקיפה), v. שָׁלָה. Maasr. IV, 1 המְקַפֵּא לתבשיל he that skims for the purpose of taking wine for a dish; Tosef. ib. I, 9 המְקַפֶּה בעריבה he that skims and takes wine out in a trough; a. fr.—In gen. to take from the top. Ter. IV, 11 סאה … וְקִפְּאָהּ if one S’ah of T’rumah fell on top of a pile, and he took it off. Ib. יְקַפְּאֶנָּה Mish. ed. (Bab. ed. יַקְפִּיאֶנָּה Hif.; Y. ed. Krot. ייקפינה, read: יְקַפֶּינָּה; Ms. M. יקיפנה, corr. acc.) let him take it off. Y. ib. 43ᵃ bot. קפה וחזר וק׳ if he took from the top once and again; a. e.
    Hif. - הִקְפִּיא, הִקְפָּה 1) same, v. supra.—2) to cause to float. Ber. 40ᵃ המַקְפֶּה אכילתו במים he that makes his food float in water (who drinks freely after meals). Sabb. 21ᵃ להַקְפּוֹת to keep the wick floating.—3) to curdle, congeal; to cause coagulation; to become thick. Ḥull. 120ᵃ; Men. 21ᵃ ה׳ את הדם if he made the blood thick (through boiling); ib. הִקְפָּהוּ באור Mss. (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 30) if he made it thick by means of artificial heat; הקפהו בחמה by exposure to the sun. Lev. R. s. 14 (ref. to Job X, 10) הִקְפִיאֲתָנִי אינו אומר וכ׳ it does not read, thou hast curdled me, but thou wilt &c.; Gen. R. s. 14 הִקְפֵּאתַנִי (some ed. הִקְפֵּתַנִי). Num. R. s. 9 (ref. to Ex. XV, 8) ה׳ שלישו של ים he made one-third of the sea thick (v. supra); a. e.
    Nif. - נִקְפָּא, נִקְפָּה to be curdled, made thick. Lev. R. l. c.; Yalk. Ex. 248, v. supra.—[Y. Ned. VII, end, 40ᶜ ניקפת, read: נִיכְפֵּית, v. כָּפָה.]