Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

خَفِشَ, aor. ـَ {يَخْفَشُ}, inf. n. خَفَشٌ, He had that quality of the eyes, or sight, which is termed خَفَشٌ as this word is explained below. (Mṣb.) And خَفِشَتْ عَيْنُهُ His eye had that quality. (A.)

خَفَشٌ Smallness of the eye, (Ṣ, A, Ḳ,) or of the eyes, (Mṣb,) and weakness in the sight, by nature: (Ṣ, A, Mṣb, Ḳ:) or a natural narrowness in the eye: (TA:) and sometimes it is a disease: (Ṣ, Mṣb:*) or a corrupt state in the eyelids, (Kh, A, Ḳ,) and redness, which causes the eyes to become narrow, (Kh,) without pain, (Kh, A, Ḳ,) and without ulceration: (Kh:) and (so in the Ṣ and A and Mṣb, but in the Ḳ “or”) nyctalopia; or the seeing by night, (Ṣ, A, Ḳ,) but not by day: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) or the seeing by night more than by day: (Mṣb:) and in a cloudy day, but not in a clear one: (Ṣ, A, Mṣb, Ḳ:) and sometimes, ‡ the being affected with ophthalmia, or inflammation of the eye with pain and swelling. (Mṣb.) كَأَنَّهُمْ مِعْزَى حَظِيرَةٍ فِى خَفَشٍ [As though they were the goats of a pen, in respect of weakness of sight,] is a prov., applied to him who falls into blindness or perplexity or the darkness of night; because goats are the weakest of the غَنَم in rain and cold: originally said by ʼÁïsheh. (TA.)

خُفَّاشٌ The bat; syn. وَطْوَاطٌ; (Ḳ;) a certain flying thing; (Mṣb;) that flies by night: (Ṣ:) so called because it can scarcely see by day; (Mṣb;) or because of the smallness of its eyes and the weakness of its sight (Ḳ, TA) by day: (TA:) its brain, if the hollows of the soles of the feet be anointed with it, excites the venereal passion: and if burnt, and used as a collyrium, it removes, or stops, (according to different copies of the Ḳ,) whiteness of the eye, (Ḳ, TA,) and sharpens the sight: (TA:) its blood, if smeared upon the pubes of one who has nearly attained the age of puberty, prevents the growth of hair; (El-Minháj, Ḳ;) as some say; but this is not true: (El-Minháj:) and if the pudendum of her who has difficulty in bringing forth, be rubbed gently with its gall-bladder, she brings forth immediately: (Ḳ,* TA:) the pl. is خَفَافِيشُ. (Ṣ, Ḳ.) [See also خُشَّافٌ.]

أَخْفَشُ One who has that quality of the eyes, or sight, which is termed خَفَشٌ as this word is explained above: (Ṣ, A, Mṣb:) and one who contracts his eyes when he looks: (TA:) and one who has in his eyes white fluid matter, or motes, or the like: (AZ:) fem. خَفْشَآءُ. (Mṣb.)