Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

زَرَافَةٌ (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ) andزُرَافَةٌ↓ (Mṣb as on the authority of AʼObeyd [but not found by me elsewhere in the sense here assigned to it]) andزَرَافَّةٌ↓, [which is of a rare form, like حَمَارَّةٌ, q. v.,] (AʼObeyd, IF, Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ,) this last mentioned by El-Kanánee, (AʼObeyd, Ṣ,) and by Kzz in his Jámiʼ, but not known to AʼObeyd on any other authority than that of El-Kanánee, and the first is said by him (AʼObeyd) to be preferable, (TA,) A company, or congregated body, of men: (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ:) or ten thereof: (Ḳ, TA:) accord. to some copies of the Ḳ what is termed an عَشِيرَة [i. e. a small portion of a tribe,, &c.,] thereof: (TA:) pl. زَرَافَاتٌ (IF, Ṣ, Mgh, Mṣb) and زَرَافَّاتٌ: (IF, Mṣb:) in a poem of Lebeed, زَرَّافَات, with teshdeed to the ر. (TA.) One says,أَتَانِى القَوْمُ بِزَرَافَّتَهِمْ↓ [or بِزَرَافَتِهِمْ, i. e. The people, or party, came to me with their whole company; meaning, all together]. (TA.)

Also زَرَافَةٌ andزُرَافَةٌ↓, (Ṣ, O, Mgh, L, Mṣb, Ḳ,) the latter, only, mentioned by IDrd, (TA,) who says, I doubt whether it be a genuine Arabic word, or not, (Mṣb, TA,) but some say that the latter is vulgar, (TA,) andزَرَافَةٌ↓ andزُرَافَّةٌ↓, (O, L, Mṣb, Ḳ,) but the first of these four is the most chaste, (L, TA,) [The camelopard, or giraffe;] a certain beast, (Ṣ, Ḳ, [in the Mgh erroneously said to be a beast of prey,]) of beautiful make, the fore legs of which are longer than its kind legs; (TA;) said to be called by a name signifying جَمَاعَةٌ because it has the form of an assemblage of animals; (Mṣb;) in Pers. called أُشْتُرْ گَاوْ پَلَنْك, (Ṣ, Mgh, Ḳ,) i. e. camel-ox-leopard, (TA,) because it has resemblances to the camel and the ox and the leopard: (Ḳ, TA:) pl. زَرَافَى, or زُرَافَى, or زَرَافِىُّ, (accord. to different copies of the Ḳ, the last accord. to the TA,) like زَرَابِىُّ. (TA.)