Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

عَسَجَ, (Ḳ,) aor. ـِ {يَعْسِجُ}, (L, TA,) inf. n. عَسْجٌ (L, TA, and so in some copies of the Ṣ, in other copies of the Ṣ and in the O عَسَج [which is wrong],) and عَسِيجٌ and عَسَجَانٌ, (O, L, TA,) He [a camel] stretched out his neck in going along [quickly: or went a pace quicker than that termed الذَّمِيل, but not so quick as that termed الوَسْجِ: see وَسَجَ]. (Ṣ, O, L, Ḳ, TA.)

And عَسَجَ, aor. ـِ {يَعْسِجُ}, inf. n. عَسَجَانٌ, He (a beast) limped, halted, or was slightly lame: so in the M. (TA.)

And Arab of the desert said, when the lion was desiring to devour him, and he [the lion] therefore betook himself to a tree [or shrub] of the species termed عَوْسَج,

* يَعْسِجُنِى بِالخَوْتَلَهْ *

* يُبْصِرُنِى لَا أَحْسَبُهْ *

meaning يَخْتِلُنِى بِالعَوْسَجَةِ يَحْسَبُنِى لَا أُبْصِرُهُ [He conceals himself, to seize me, by means of the 'owsajeh: thinking that I shall not see him: the transpositions in the verse being app. meant to be understood as occasioned by the terror of the man; for the words of the explanation may be read so as to have the same metre as those of the verse]. (TA.)

عَسِجَ المَالُ, [aor. ـَ {يَعْسَجُ},] The camels became diseased from pasturing upon the [shrubs called] عَوْسَج. (O, Ḳ, TA.)

اعسجّ, inf. n. اِعْسِجَاجٌ, He (an old man) went away bent by reason of age. (O, Ḳ.)

عَسْجٌ A certain pace, or manner of going, of camels. (TA.) [See 1, first sentence.]

عِسْجَةٌ A portion of the night. (O.)

عَاسِجٌ [part. n. of عَسَجَ]. Dhu-r-Rummeh says, describing his she-camel,

* وَالعِيسُ مِنْ عَاسِجٍ أَوْ وَاسِجٍ خَبَبًا *

* يُنْحَزْنَ مِنْ جَانِبَيْهَا وَهْىَ تَنْسَلِبُ *

[And the reddish, or yellowish, or dingy, white camels, of a sort that goes the pace termed عَسْج, or of a sort that goes the pace termed وَسْج, with a quick running, are struck with the feet on their sides, but she outstrips]: he means, the camels go swiftly, struck with the feet in their course, but do not overtake my she-camel. (Ṣ, O.)

عَوْسَجٌ [The lycium, or box-thorn; of several species; but now particularly applied to the lycium Europæum of Linn.: accord. to Sprengel (Hist. rei herb. p. 252, as stated by Freytag), applied to the zizyphus spina Christi, which is the rhamnus spina Christi of Linn.; but this is the سِدْر:] a species of thorn: (Ṣ, O, Ḳ:*) certain trees of the thorn-kind, (L,) having a round red fruit [or berry] like the carnelian-bead, (O, L,) which is sweet, and is eaten: (O:) or a species of thorntrees having a bitter red fruit in which is acidity, called مُصْعٌ: (Mṣb:) or certain trees having many thorns, and of several species, whereof is one that produces a red fruit, called مُصْعٌ, in which is acidity: (T:) when it grows large, it is called غَرْقَدٌ: (O, Mṣb:) and because of the softness of its wood, the women of the Arabs of the desert make of it spindles for spinning wool: (O:) the n. un. is with ة {عَوْسَجَةٌ}: (Ṣ, O, Mṣb: [in the Ḳ, عَوْسَجٌ is termed the pl. of عَوْسَجَةٌ:]) and it is said that the pl. of the n. un. is عَوَاسِجُ: (TA:) ISd says, the genuine عَوْسَج is short between the knots, hard in the wood, small in the leaves, and does not grow large, and this is the best sort: thus says AḤn: (L:) some say that it is the عليق [i. e. عُلَّيْق, q. v.]: Dioscorides says, it is a tree that grows in tracts that exude water and produce salt, having erect thorny branches, and leaves somewhat long, overspread with a moist viscous substance: and there is another species, whiter than this: and another species, of which the leaves are blacker than those of the former, and wider, inclining a little to redness, and its branches are long, their length being about five cubits, and having more numerous thorns, and weaker, and less sharp, and its fruit is wide and thin, as though it were in sheaths: and the عوسج has a fruit like the توث [or mulberry], which is eaten: it grows mostly in cold, or cool, countries. (Avicenna [Ibn-Seenà], book ii. p. 232. [In this extract from Dioscorides, in the original, are some unimportant words which I have passed over, including two imperfectly printed, and unintelligible: and what is said in it respecting the fruit I think doubtful, as being inapplicable to the fruit of the box-thorn.])

مِعْسَاجٌ an epithet applied to a camel [app. meaning That stretches out his neck much in going along: or that goes the pace termed عَسْج much or well]. (Ṣ, O, Ḳ.)