Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

سَفَنَهُ, (Ṣ, M, L, Ḳ,) aor. ـِ {يَسْفِنُ}, (M, L, Ḳ,) inf. n. سَفْنٌ, (Ṣ, M, L,) i. q. قَشَرَهُ [i. e. He divested or stripped it of, or he stripped off, scraped off, rubbed off, abraded, or otherwise removed, its outer covering or integument, or superficial part; he pared it, peeled it,, &c.: and he, or it, pared, peeled, stripped, or rubbed, it off; namely, anything superficial and generally a thing adhering to the surface of another thing]. (Ṣ, M, L, Ḳ.) Imra-el-Ḳeys says,

* فَجَاءَ خَفِيًّا يَسْفِنُ الأَرْضَ بَطْنُهُ *

* تَرَى التُّرْبَ مِنْهُ لَاصِقًا كُلَّ مَلْصَقِ *

[And he came clandestinely, his belly paring the ground, thou seeing the dust sticking to him with the utmost sticking]; (Ṣ, M, L; but in the Ṣ, لَازِقًا and مَلْزَقِ;) meaning that he came cleaving to the ground in order that the objects of the chase might not see him and flee from him. (Ṣ, L.)

And He pared and smoothed it; as alsoسفّنهُ↓ [but app. in an intensive sense, or used in relation to several objects]. (M, L.)

And سَفَنَتِ الرِيحُ التُّرَابَ, (M, L,) aor. as above, (L,) and so the inf. n., (M, L,) The wind reduced the dust to a fine powder: (M, L:) or سَفَنَت ِالرِيحُ التُّرَابَ عَنْ وَجْهِ الأرْضِ [The wind pared off the dust from the surface of the earth]. (Ṣ, L.)

And سَفَنَتِ الرِّيحُ, aor. ـُ {يَسْفُنُ}, (Lḥ, M, L, Ḳ,) inf. n. سُفُونٌ, (Lḥ, M, L,) The wind blew upon the surface of the earth [app. removing the dust]; as also سَفِنَتِ, (Lḥ, M, L, Ḳ,) aor. ـَ {يَسْفَنُ}. (Ḳ.)

And السَّفِينَةُ تَسْفِنُ عَلَى وَجْهِ الأَرْضِ The ship, or boat, sticks upon the ground. (L.)

سَفَنٌ A carpenter's adz, or axe, (L,) or a large adz or axe, (M, L,) or a thing (Ṣ, L, Ḳ) of any kind, (Ḳ,) with which one hews, or shapes out, or pares, a thing; as alsoمِسْفَنٌ↓: (Ṣ, L, Ḳ:) or an adz with which palm-trunks are pared; as also سَفَرٌ and شَفَرٌ. (ISk, L.)

Also Rough skin, (Ṣ, M, L, Ḳ,) thick, or coarse, (M,) such as the skins of crocodiles, (Ṣ, L,) which is put upon the hilts of swords: (Ṣ, M, L:) or the skin of the fish called أَطُوم, which is a rough skin, wherewith whips and arrows are rubbed [to smooth them], and which is upon the hilts of swords: (Mgh, L:*) accord. to AḤn, (M, L,) a rough piece of the skin of the [lizard called] ضَبّ, or of the skin of a fish, with which the arrow is rubbed so as to remove from it the marks of the paring-knife: (M, L, Ḳ:) or, as some say, (M, L,) a stone with which one shapes out, or pares, and smooths: (M, L, Ḳ:) sometimes, accord. to Lth, an iron implement with which one rubs wood so as to smooth it: (L:) accord. to AHeyth, a cane which is hollowed, and has some notches cut in it, through which an arrow is put and repeatedly drawn [to smooth it]; also called طَرِيدَةٌ. (L in art. طرد.) See an ex. in a verse cited in art. خوف, conj. 5.

سَفُونٌ A wind that blows upon the surface of the earth [app. removing the dust]; (M, Ḳ;) as alsoسَافِنَةٌ↓: (Ḳ:) or the former, a wind always blowing: (L:) and↓ the latter signifies a wind as though wiping the surface of the earth; (AʼObeyd, L;) or paring it; (L;) or [simply] a wind; (Ṣ;) and its pl. is سَوَافِنُ. (AʼObeyd, Ṣ, L, Ḳ.)

سِفَانَةٌ The craft, or occupation, of constructing, (M, L, Ḳ,) and of navigating, (M, L,) ships or boats. (M, L, Ḳ.)

سَفِينَةٌ A ship, or boat; (M, L;) of the measure فَعيلَةٌ in the sense of the measure فَاعِلَةٌ; (IDrd, Ṣ, M, L, Mṣb;) as though it pared the surface of the water; (IDrd, Ṣ, L, Mṣb;) or so called because it pares [meaning skims] the surface of the water; (M, L;) or because it pares the sands [by running aground] when the water is little [in depth]; or because [in that case] it sticks upon the ground; or it may be from سَفَنٌ meaning “a carpenter's adz or axe with which he hews, &c.,” and, if so, having the meaning of the measure مَفْعُولَةٌ: (L:) the pl. is سَفَائِنُ and سُفُنٌ (M, L, Mṣb, Ḳ) and [coll. gen. n.] سَفِينٌ↓: (Ṣ, M, L, Mṣb, Ḳ:) the first of these is a regular pl.: (Sb, M, L:) the second is pl. of the third, (Mṣb,) or it is as though it were pl. of the third: (Sb, M, L:) ↓ the third is anomalous, being of a class proper to created things, as in the instances of تَمْرَةٌ and تَمْرٌ, and نَخْلَةٌ and نَخْلٌ, and only heard in a few instances in the cases of things made by art; and some say that it is a dial. var. of سَفِينَةٌ. (Mṣb.) [Hence,] السَّفِينَةُ † [The constellation Argo;] one of the southern constellations, of which the stars are five and forty, the bright great star upon the southern oar being سْهَيْلٌ [i. e. Canopus], accord. to Ptolemy, and it is the most remote star from the سفينة, in the south, and is marked on the astrolabe; but some of the Arabs say that the bright star at the extremity of the second oar [but what star is meant thereby I know not] is called سُهَيْلٌ, without restriction. (Ḳzw.)

[Also An oblong book: and a commonplace book: app. post-classical.]

سَفَّانٌ A constructor, or builder, of ships or boats: (M, L, Ḳ:) and a navigator, (M, L,) or a master, (Ṣ, Mṣb,) of a ship or boat. (Ṣ, M, L, Mṣb.)

سَفَّانَهٌ A pearl. (Ḳ.)

سَافِنَةٌ; pl. سَوَافِنُ: see سَفُونٌ, in two places.

السَّافِينُ A certain vein in the inner side of the spine, extending lengthwise, with which is united the نِيَاط [q. v.] of the heart. (Ḳ.) [Golius and Freytag explain it as meaning the “Saphæna:” but this is called الصَّافِنُ.]

سِيفَنَّةٌ A certain bird [found] in Egypt, that does not alight upon a tree without eating all the leaves thereof. (Ḳ.)