وَقَدْ يَكُونُ إِعْرَابُ الِاسْمِ بِتَبَعِيَّةِ مَا قَبْلَهُ، وَيُسَمَّى التَّابِعَ؛ لِأَنَّهُ يَتْبَعُ مَا قَبْلَهُ فِي الْإِعْرَابِ.
Translation: A noun may acquire its case by following a preceding word. It is called a follower because it follows that preceding word in grammatical case.
The matbūʿ is the word followed, and the tābiʿ follows it. A matching ending alone does not tell you which type of follower is present.
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The Tawābiʿ and Naʿt: Direct and Relational Attributes
وَقَدْ يَكُونُ إِعْرَابُ الِاسْمِ بِتَبَعِيَّةِ مَا قَبْلَهُ، وَيُسَمَّى التَّابِعَ؛ لِأَنَّهُ يَتْبَعُ مَا قَبْلَهُ فِي الْإِعْرَابِ.
Translation: A noun may acquire its case by following a preceding word. It is called a follower because it follows that preceding word in grammatical case.
The matbūʿ is the word followed, and the tābiʿ follows it. A matching ending alone does not tell you which type of follower is present.