Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

حَفَرَ, (Ṣ, A, Ḳ, &c.,) aor. ـِ {يَحْفِرُ}, (Mṣb, Ḳ,) inf. n. حَفْرٌ, (Mgh, Mṣb,) He dug, excavated, or hollowed out, the ground, or earth; (KL, PṢ, &c.;) he cleared out a thing, (Ḳ,) as one does the ground; (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ;) and a well; (the Lexicons passim;) and a river; (A, Mgh;) with a مِحْفَار; (A;) or with an iron implement; (Ḳ;) andاحتفر↓ signifies the same. (Ṣ, A, Ḳ.) And حَفَرَ عَلَيْهِ, and حَفَرَهُ, andاحتفرهُ↓, He dug for him, (namely, a lizard of the kind called ضَبّ, or a jerboa,) to fetch him forth. (A, TA.)

[He burrowed.]

† It (a torrent) furrowed a valley. (Mṣb.) [See also 5.]

‡ Inivit feminam: (IAạr, Mṣb, Ḳ:) the action being likened to that of a man digging a river. (IAạr.)

هٰذَا غَيْثٌ لَا يَحْفِرُهُ أَحَدٌ ‡ This is a rain of which no one knows the utmost extent. (Ḳ,* TA.)

حَفَرَ ثَرَى زَيْدٍ ‡ He searched into the affair, or case, of Zeyd, (A, Ḳ,) and became acquainted with it. (Ḳ.)

And حَفَرَ, (Ṣ, A, Ḳ,) aor. as above, (Ṣ,) and so the inf. n., (Ṣ, A,) † He, or it, emaciated, or rendered lean: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) it (a copious flow of milk, TA) emaciated a she-goat: (Ḳ, TA:) ‡ he (a young camel) rendered his mother flabby in flesh by much sucking. (A.) There is no pregnant animal that pregnancy does not emaciate, except the camel: (Ṣ, A:) she fattens in pregnancy. (Ṣ.)

حَفَرَ He (a child) shed his رَوَاضِع [or milk-teeth]. (Ḳ, TA.) [See also 4.]

حَفَرَتْ رَوَاضِعُ المُهْرِ, or حُفِرَتْ, (accord. to different copies of the A,) ‡ The milk-teeth of the colt became in a wabbling, or loose, state, previously to their falling out; because, when they have fallen out, their sockets become hollow. (A.) [See 4.]

حَفَرَتِ الأَسْنَانُ, aor. ـِ {يَحْفِرُ}, (Ṣ, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ,) inf. n. حَفْرٌ; (Ṣ, Mṣb;) and حَفِرَت, aor. ـَ {يَحْفَرُ}, (Ṣ, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ,) inf. n. حَفَرٌ, in the dial. of BenooAsad, (Ṣ, Mṣb,) and this is the worse of these two forms, (Ṣ,) and حَفْرٌ; (El-Wáʼee;) and حُفِرَت; (Ḳ;) ‡ The teeth became affected with what is termed حَفْرٌ [q. v. infrà] or حَفَرٌ: (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ:) or became unsound: (Mgh:) and حَفَرَ فُوهُ and حَفِرَ his teeth cankered. (A.) IDrst says, in the Expos. of the Fṣ, that حَفَرَ, aor. ـِ {يَحْفِرُ}, inf. n. حَفْرَ فُوهُ, is trans.; and that the cause of حَفْر of the teeth, [or the agent of the verb حَفَرَ,] is old age, or the continuance of a yellow incrustation, [or tartar,] or some kind of canker that effects them: but that the verb in the phrase حَفِرَتْ سِنُّهُ, aor. ـَ {يَحْفَرُ}, inf. n. حَفَرٌ, is intrans. (MF.) [The truth probably is, that the former verb is both trans. and intrans., and hence حُفِرَتِ الأَسْنَانُ; and that the latter is intrans. only.]

And حَفِرَ, aor. ـَ {يَحْفَرُ}, † It was, or became, in a bad, corrupt, or unsound, state. (Az.)

حافر, (A,) inf. n. مُحَافَرَةٌ, (TA,) He (a jerboa) went deep into his hole; (A;) so deep that he could not be dug out. (TA.)

احفر فُلَانًا بِئْرًا He assisted such a one to dig a well. (Ḳ.)

احفر الصَّبِىُّ, (Ḳ,) inf. n. إِحْفَارٌ, (TA,) ‡ The child shed his two upper and lower central incisors: (سَقَطَتْ لَهُ الثَّنِيَّتَانِ العُلْيَيَانِ وَالسُّفْلَيَانِ:) so in the Ḳ: and to these words we find added, in some copies of the Ḳ, لِلْإِثْنَآءَ وَالإِرْبَاعِ; and then, وَالمُهْرُسَقَطَتْ ثَنَايَاهُ وَرَبَاعِيَاتُهُ: but in some good and corrected copies, we read, after السفليان, thus, والمهر للاثناء والا رباع سقطت ثناياه ورباعياته: to which, in some lexicons, [as in the Ṣ, though the explanation which follows is there different,] after والارباع, is added وَالقُرُوحِ. (TA. [This is evidently the right reading; and therefore I follow it in an explanation in what is here immediately subjoined.])

احفر المُهْرُ لِلْإِثْنَآءِ وَٱلْإِرْبَاعِ ‡ The colt shed his central incisors, or nippers, and each of the teeth immediately next to these: (Ḳ: see what next precedes {3}:) or احفر المُهْرُ لِلْإِثْنَآءَ وَٱلْإِرْبَاعِ وَٱلْقُرُوحِ the colt shed his milk teeth (رَوَاضِع), [the central pair, the second pair, and the third pair, in each jaw,] and grew others: (Ṣ:) or احفر المهر, [inf. n. إِحْفَارٌ,] signifies, the colt had his milk-teeth in a wabbling, or loose, state, previously to their falling out; because, when they have fallen out, their sockets become hollow: (A:) or the colt had his lower and upper central pairs of nippers, of his milk-teeth, in a wabbling, or loose, state: this is during a period extending from thirty months, at the earliest, to three years: then the teeth fall out: then a lower and an upper central pair of nippers grow in the place of the milk-nippers which have fallen out, after three years; and the epithet مُبْدِيءٌ is applied to the colt; and the epithet ثَنِىٌّ is [also] then applied to him, and continues to be until [again it is said of him] يُحْفِرُ, meaning, he has his lower and upper pairs of nippers, of his milkteeth, in a wabbling, or loose, state: then these fall out, when he has completed four years: then the term إِبْدَآءٌ is [again] applied to him; [i. c., he is again termed مُبْدِيءٌ;] and he is, and ceases not to be, termed رَبَاعٍ, until [it is said of him] يُحْفِرُ لِلْقٌرُوحِ [in the TA, تُحْفِر القُرُوح, which is an evident mistake,] meaning, he has his two corner nippers [in each jaw] in a wabbling, or loose, state: this is when he has completed five years: then the term إِبْدَآءٌ is applied to him as before described: then he is [also said to be] قَارِحٌ. (TA from the “Kitáb el-Kheyl” of AO.) [See also 1.]

تحفّر ‡ It (a torrent) made hollows in the ground. (A.) [See also 1.]

اسحفر He asked, or desired, [another] to dig a well, or pit, and a rivulet, or canal. (KL.)

استحفر النَّهْرُ It was time for the river, or rivulet, or canal, to be dug [or cleared out]. (Ṣ.)

حَفْرٌ: see حَفَرٌ, in two places; and حَفِيرٌ.

Also † Emaciation, or leanness. (Kr.) [See 1.]

Also, andحَفَرٌ↓, (Az, Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ,) the latter of the dial. of the Benoo-Asad, and the worse of the two forms, (Ṣ,) said by IḲt to be a bad form, (TA,) and by ISk to be a vulgar mispronunciation, which is attributed to his not having heard the dial. of the Benoo-Asad, (Mṣb,) ‡ A scaling (سُلَاق) in the roots of the teeth: (Yaạḳoob, Ṣ, Ḳ:) or a rottenness, or an unsound state, of the roots of the teeth, (Ṣ, Mṣb,) by reason of a scaling of those parts: (Mṣb:) or what adheres to the teeth, externally and internally: (Az:) or an erosion of the roots of the teeth by a yellow incrustation between those parts and the gum, externally and internally, pressing upon the bone so that the latter scales away if it be not quickly removed: (Sh:) or a cankering of the teeth: (A:) or a yellowness upon the teeth: (IDrd, IKh, Ḳ:) or حَفْرٌ signifies a pimple, or small pustule, in the gum of a child. (El-Wáʼee.) [See 1: and see also حِبْرٌ.]

حَفَرٌ A well that is widened (Ḳ, TA) beyond. measure; (TA;) as alsoحَفْرٌ↓ (Ḳ) andحَفِيرٌ↓ andحَفيرَةٌ↓. (TA.)

See also حَفيرٌ.

The earth that is taken forth from a hollow, cavity, pit, or the like, that is dug in the ground; (Ṣ, Ḳ;) like هَدَمٌ: (Ṣ:) [see also حَفِيرَةٌ:] or what is dug, or excavated; like عَدَدٌ and خَبَطٌ and نَفَضٌ in the senses of مَعْدُودٌ and مَخْبُوطٌ and مَنْفُوضٌ: (Mṣb:) or a place that is dug, (Az, Ṣ, Mṣb,) like a moat or well; (Az, Mṣb;) as alsoحَفْرٌ↓: (TA:) pl. أَحْفَارٌ, (Mṣb, Ḳ,) and pl. pl. أَحَافِيرُ. (Ḳ.)

See, again, حَفِيرٌ.

And see حَفْرٌ.

حُفْرَةٌ What is dug, excavated, hollowed out, or cleared out, (Mṣb, Ḳ,) in the ground; (Mṣb;) [i. e. a hollow, cavity, pit, hole, trench, ditch, or furrow, dug, or excavated, in the ground: and any hollow, or cavity, in the ground, whether made by digging or † natural: a burrow:] as alsoحَفِيرَةٌ↓, (Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ,) which is of the measure فَعِيلَةٌ in the sense of the measure مَفْعُولَةٌ: (Mṣb:) pl. of the former حُفَرٌ; (Ṣ, Mṣb;) and of the latter حَفَائِرُ. (Mṣb.)

See also حَفِيرٌ.

حَفِيرٌ is of the measure فَعِيلٌ in the sense of the measure مَفْعُولٌ [meaning Dug, excavated, hollowed out, or cleared out, in the ground]. (TA.) [Hence,] رَكِيَّةٌ حَفِيرَةٌ A newly-dug well; as alsoحَفَرٌ↓. (TA.)

See also this last word.

Also, (IAạr, Ṣ, A, Ḳ,) andحَفِيرَةٌ↓ andحَفْرٌ↓, (A,) [orحَفَرٌ↓, q. v., andحُفْرَةٌ↓, as is shown by an explanation of its pl. (حُفَرٌ) in the Ḥam p. 562,] A grave. (IAạr, Ṣ, A, Ḳ.)

حَفِيرَةٌ: see حَفَرٌ:

and حُفْرَةٌ:

and حَفِيرٌ.

Also What is dug out of a mine. (Mgh.)

حَفَّارٌ A grave-digger. (Ḳ.)

حَافرٌ, [Digging: a digger.]

[And hence,] The حافر of a beast, (دَابَّة, Ṣ, Ḳ,) i. e., of a horse, or mule, or ass; (TA;) [namely, the hoof; a solid hoof;] as though it dug the ground by reason of the vehemence of its tread upon it; (Mṣb;) a subst., like كَاهِلٌ and غَارِبٌ: (TA:) pl. حَوَافِرُ. (Ṣ, A, Ḳ.)

[Hence, by a synecdoche,] خُفٌّ وَحَافِرٌ ‡ Camels and horses. (Mgh in art. خف.)

حَافِرٌ is also applied to ‡ The foot of a man, (Ṣ, TA,) when it is meant to be characterized as ugly. (TA.)

النَّقْدُ عِنْدَ الحَافِرَةِ↓, (Ṣ, A, Ḳ,) and الحَافِرِ, (A, Ḳ,) is a prov., (Ṣ,) meaning, ‡ The payment in ready money is on the occasion of the first sentence spoken (Yaạḳoob, T,* Ṣ, Ḳ) by the seller, when he says “I have sold to thee” [such a thing]. (T.) The origin of the saying was this: horses were the most excellent (Ḳ) and precious (TA) of the things that they possessed; and they used not to sell them on credit: a man used to say the words above to another; meaning that its hoof should not remove until he received its price: (Ḳ:) and he who says عند الحافرة (since he makes الحافر to mean the beast, الدَّابَّة, itself, and since its use in this sense is frequent without the mention of ذَات [prefixed to it],) subjoins to it the sign [ة] of the fem. gender to show that ذَاتِ الحَافِرِ is meant by this name. (TA.) Or they used to say this on the occasion of racing and betting: and the meaning is, when the horse's hoof first falls upon the dug ground [at the goal]: (Abu-l-ʼAbbás, Az, Ḳ:) حَافِرَةٌ↓, (Abu-l-ʼAbbás,) or حَافِرٌ, (Ḳ,) signifying dug ground; (Abu-l- ʼAbbás, Ḳ;*) ground that is dug by a horse's feet; (Ḥar p. 653;) like as one says مَآءٌ دَافِقٌ, meaning مَدْفُوقٌ. (TA.) Lth says that the saying means, when thou buyest it, thou dost not quit thy place until thou payest ready money. (TA.) This was its origin: then it came to be so often said as to be used with reference to any priority. (Ḳ.)

[Thus,] حَافِرَةٌ↓ signifies ‡ The original state or constitution of a thing; that wherein it was created: and the returning in a thing, so that the end thereof is brought back to its beginning. (Ḳ.) It is said in the Ḳur [lxxix. 10],أَئِنَّا لَمَرْدُودُونَ فِى الحَافِرَةِ↓, i. e., ‡ Shall we indeed be restored to our first state? (Ṣ:) i. e., to life? (Fr:) or to the present world, as we were: (IAạr:) or to our first creation, after our death. (TA.) IAạr cites the following verse:

* عَلَى صَلَعٍ وَشَيْبٍ أَحَافِرَةً *

* مَعَاذَ ٱللّٰهِ مِنْ سَفِهٍ وَعَارِ *

meaning ‡ Shall I return to my first state, wherein I was in my youth, when I indulged in amatory conversation, and silly and youthful conduct, after hoariness, and baldness of the fore part of my head? [I beg God to preserve me from lightwittedness and shameful conduct.] (Ṣ.) One says also,رَجَعَ إِلَى حَافِرَتِهِ↓, (A,) and حَافِرِهِ, (TA,) ‡ He became old and decrepit: (A, TA:) [as though he returned to his first state; or became in a state of second childishness.] Andاِلْتَقَوْا فَٱقْتَتَلُوا عِنْدَ الحَافِرَةِ↓ (Ṣ, A, Ḳ) and الحَافِرِ (A) ‡ They met, and fought one another at the first of their meeting. (Ṣ, Ḳ.) Andفَعَلَ كَذَا عِنْدَ الحَافِرَةِ↓ and الحَافِرِ ‡ He did so at the first, without delay. (TA.) Andرَجَعَ عَلَى حَافِرَتِهِ↓ ‡ He returned by the way by which he had come: (T, Ṣ:) or by which he had come forth. (Ḳ.)

مِحْفَرٌ (Ḳ) andمِحْفَارٌ↓ (A, Ḳ) andمِحْفَرَةٌ↓ (Ḳ) A spade; syn. مِسْحَاةٌ: (Ḳ:) an implement for digging (A, Ḳ, TA) of the same kind as a مسحاة: (TA:) pl. of the first [and last] مَحَافِرُ. (Ḥam p. 665.)

طُرُقٌ مُحَفَّرَةٌ [app. Roads much furrowed by the feet of beasts or men: see حَجِيجٌ]. (L and Ḳ in art. حج.)

مِحْفَارٌ: see مِحْفَرٌ.

مَحْفُورٌ [i. q. حَفِيرٌ as meaning Dug: see the latter.]

فَمُ فُلَانٍ مَحْفُورٌ [and أَسْنَانُهُ مَحْفُورَةٌ] ‡ The teeth of such a one are affected with what is termed حَفْرٌ or حَفَرٌ. (Ṣ, TA.) And صَبِىٌّ مَحْفُورٌ † A child having a pimple, or small pustule, in the gum. (El-Wáʼee.)

فُلَانٌ أَرْوَغُ مِنْ يَرْبُوعٍ مُحَافِرٍ Such a one is more elusive than a jerboa that goes so deep into his hole that he cannot be dug out. (A, TA.)