Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

تَفْئِيلٌ is of the measure تَفْعِيلٌ from الفَأْلُ: (O, Ḳ,* TA:*) [and is app. syn. with تَفَأُّلٌ, signifying The auguring,, &c.; or it may signify the auguring,, &c., much: accord. to the TḲ, فَأَّلَهُ بِهِ means جَعَلَهُ يَتَفَأَّلُ بِهِ he made him to augur,, &c., by it; but this, as is very often the case in the TḲ, is app. said only on the ground of conjecture: the only ex. that I have found, to show its true meaning, is that which here follows:] Ru-beh says,

* لَا يَأْخُذُ التَّفْئِيلُ وَالتَّحَزِّى *

* فِينَا وَلَا قَذْفُ العِدَى ذُو الأَزِّ *

[which seems evidently to mean, The auguring,, &c., or auguring,, &c., much, and the divining, will not have any effect upon us; nor the enemies' noisy reviling or reproaching]: but AA has related it otherwise, substituting التَّأْفِيكُ [lit. the lying] for التفئيل; and has explained it as meaning the enchanting; because it is a turning of a thing from its proper way, or mode. (O, TA.)

تفأّل بِهِ, (ISk, Ṣ, M, MA,) orتفآءل↓, (AZ, T, Mṣb,) or both, (Ḳ, TA, [accord. to the latter of which, it seems that the latter v. is formed from the former v., for the purpose of alleviating the pronunciation, and has become the popular form,]) He augured, or augurated, good, by it, or from it; or regarded it as a good omen; i. e., something uttered in his hearing: (AZ, ISk, T, Ṣ, M,* MA, Mṣb, Ḳ:) or so, and likewise evil; (AZ, T, Mṣb, Ḳ;) accord. to the usage of some of the Arabs: (T:) [but in the latter case they generally said, تَطِيَّرَ مِنْهُ (q. v.): and in like manner they used these verbs in relation to the cries and flights of birds, and the motions of gazelles, &c.; as is stated in several of the lexicons, voce بَارِحٌ, &c. See also 2 and 8: and see فَأْلٌ.]

اِفْتِئَالٌ [in my copies of the Ṣ written اِفْتِيَال] is of the measure اِفْتِعَالٌ from الفَأْلُ: (Ṣ, Ḳ,* TA:*) [in the PṢ and TḲ, it is said to be syn. with تَفَأُّلٌ: it seems, however, that in the ex. here following, its exact signification, and whether it be used in an act. or a pass. sense, is doubtful; and that it is trans. without a prep.:] El-Kumeyt says, describing horses,

* إِذَا مَا بدَتْ تَحْتَ الخَوَافِقِ صَدَّقَتْ *

* بِأَيْمَنِ فَأْلِ الزَّاجِرِينَ ٱفْتِئَالُهْا *

[app. meaning, When they appear beneath the standards, (perhaps standards set up as winningposts,) the regarding them as of good omen, or their being regarded as of good omen, (by reason of their excellent performance,) verifies the happiest augury of the diviners: with respect to its being made fem. in this ex., though not regularly fem. in form, see صَرْفٌ, third sentence]. (Ṣ, TA.)

[It has also another signification:] Fr says, اِفْتَأَلْتُ الرَّأْىَ is with hemz which is originally [a letter] other than hemz [app. meaning that the v. is originally اِفْتَيَلْتُ, which becomes changed by rule to اِفْتَلْتُ; and that the signification is the same as that of فَيَّلْتُ الرَّأْىَ, I declared, or esteemed, the judgment, or opinion, weak; or pronounced it to be bad, and wrong, or erroneous: perhaps the substitution of hemz for the medial radical letter is for the purpose of giving to the phrase a double meaning: or the hemz may be the original letter, and the phrase may be used ironically]. (O, TA.)

فَأْلٌ, (T, Ṣ, M, O, Mṣb, Ḳ,) and فَالٌ without ء is allowable, (Mṣb,) A good omen; (PṢ;) contr. of طِيَرَةٌ: (T, M, Mṣb, Ḳ:) it is when a man is sick, and he hears another say يَا سَالِمُ [O safe]; or seeking, and hears another say يَا وَاجِدُ [O finder]: (ISk, T, Ṣ, O, Ḳ:*) or it is when one hears a good saying, and augurs good by it: (Mṣb:) [therefore] it is said in a trad., كَانَ يُحِبُّ الفَأْلَ وَيَكْرَهُ الطِّيَرَةَ [He (the Prophet) used to like the فأل, and dislike the طِيَرَة]: (T, Ṣ, O:) [or it signifies so, and likewise an evil omen: i. e.] it is used in relation to a good saying and to an evil saying, (AZ, T, Mṣb, Ḳ,) by some of the Arabs: (T:) it is said in a trad. [of the Prophet], يُعْجِبُنِى الفَأْلُ الصَّالِحُ [The good فأل pleases me]; which shows that there is a sort of فأل that is good and a sort that is not good: (TA:) and [in like manner] طَائِرٌ is applied to that which is good and that which is evil: (Ḳ in art. طير:) the pl. is أَفْؤُلٌ [properly a pl. of pauc.], (Ṣ, O,) or فُؤُولٌ [a pl. of mult.], (M,) or both: (Ḳ:) El-Kumeyt says,

* وَلَا أَسْأَلُ الطَّيْرَ عَمَّا تَقُولُ *

* وَلَا تَتَخَالَجُنِى الأَفْؤُلُ *

[And I will not ask the birds respecting what they say, nor shall omens, or good omens, contend with me as though pulling me in different directions]. (Ṣ, O.)

لَا فَأْلَ عَلَيْكَ means No harm shall befall thee; (T, O, Ḳ;) and no evil fortune; and no mischief. (T.)

فَئِلُ اللَّحْمِ, (O, Ḳ,) orفَيْأَلُ↓ اللَّحْمِ, (T,) or both, (TA,) A man having much flesh. (T, O, Ḳ, TA.) [See also فَيِّلٌ, in art. فيل.]

الفِئَالُ A certain game of the boys (T, Ṣ, O, Ḳ, TA) of the desert-Arabs, (TA,) with earth, or dust: (T:) they hide a thing in earth, or dust, and then divide it, and say, In which of them (Ṣ, O, Ḳ, TA) twain (Ṣ, O, TA) is it? (Ṣ, O, Ḳ, TA.) [See also الفَيَالُ, in art. فيل.]

مُفَائِلٌ [or مُفَايِلٌ (M and TA in art. فيل)] A boy playing at the game called الفِئَال. (Ṣ, O.*)