Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

عَرْفَجٌ A certain plant, (Ṣ,) or a sort of trees [or shrubs], (Ḳ,) growing in plain, or soft, land: n. un. with ة {عَرْفَجَةٌ}: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) it is said to be of the trees [or shrubs] of the صَيْف [meaning either spring or summer], soft, or pliable, dust-coloured, and having a rough produce like the حَسَك [or prickly heads of thistles and similar plants]: (TA:) Aboo-Ziyád says, (O, TA,) as related by AḤn, (O,) that it is of sweet, or pleasant, odour, dustcoloured, inclining to greenness, having a yellow blossom; (O, TA;) and when it becomes aggregated and abundant in a place, that place is called حَوْمَانٌ: (O:) it has no grains nor thorns: (O, TA:) it and the ثُمَام and the ضَعَة grow in plain, or soft, land, and on the mountain; and none of these has thorns: its firewood is the best of firewood in odour, and the quickest in taking fire and in blazing: (O:) AḤn [also] says, certain of the Arabs of the desert informed me that its root is wide, occupying a [considerable] piece of ground; and it sends forth many shoots, proportionate to the root, without leaves, [but see خُوصٌ,] being only slender shoots, at the extremities whereof are [buds, or the like, such as are termed] زَمَع, at the heads of which appears a yellow substance like hair: and he says that, accord. to the ancient Arabs of the desert, it occupies a space like that of a man sitting, becomes white when it dries up, has a yellow produce, is eaten in the fresh and dry state by the camels and sheep or goats, and its flame is intensely red, whence one says, كَأَنَّ لِحْيَتَهُ ضِرَامُ عَرْفَجَةٍ or عَرْفَجٍ [As though his beard were the blazing, or flaming, of an 'arfajeh or of 'arfaj]. (TA.) The fire of the عرفج is called نَارُ الزَّحْفَتَيْنِ [The fire of the two walks]; because he who kindles it walks to it, and when it burns up he walks from it: (T, TA:) or because it quickly blazes and quickly subsides; so when it blazes they walk from it, and when it subsides they walk to it. (O. [See also art. زحف.]) When the greenness of plants appears in it, it is termed عَرْفَجَةٌ خَاضِبَةٌ. (Aboo-ʼObeyd El-Bekree, TA.) When it has been rained upon, and its stalk has become soft, one says ثَقَّبَ عُودُ العَرْفَجِ: when it has become somewhat black, قَمِلَ: when a little more so, اِرْقَاطَّ: when more so, أَدْبَى: and when its خُوص are perfect, أَخْوَصَ. (AA, TA.)

كَمَنِّ الغَيْثِ عَلَى العَرْفَجَةِ [Like the benefit conferred by the rain upon the 'arfajeh], meaning its falling upon it when dry, and causing it to become green, is a prov., said, accord. to AZ, to him upon whom thou hast conferred a benefit and who says to thee, Dost thou confer a benefit upon me? (TA.)

لَىُّ العَرْفَجَةِ signifies A certain mode of coïtus. (O, Ḳ.)

عَرَافِجُ Sands in which is no road. (O, Ḳ. [In the latter it is expl. as though it were a proper name.])