Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

وَسْوَسَ, [inf. n. وَسْوَسَةٌ and وِسْوَاسٌ, and simple subst. وسْوَاسٌ, but see ظأْظَأَ,] He spoke, or talked, indistinctly: (TA:) [or in a low, faint, gentle, or soft manner, with confusedness: for] Aboo-Turáb is related to have said, that he heard Khaleefeh say, وَسْوَسَةٌ signifies the speaking in a low, faint, gentle, or soft, manner, with confusedness: or, accord. to one relation, it is [وَشْوَشَةٌ,] with ش. (TA.) [It is generally intrans., agreeable with the above explanations: but sometimes trans.; for you say,] وَسْوَسَ الرَّجُلَ He spoke to the man with low, faint, gentle, or soft, speech. (M.)

[Hence,] وَسْوَسَتٌ إِلَيْهِ نَفْسُهُ, (Ṣ, M,* A,* Mṣb, Ḳ,*) and وَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ, (Ṣ, A,* Mṣb, Ḳ,) and لَهُ, (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ,) and فِيهِ, (TA,) or فِى صَدْرِهِ, (M,) inf. n. وَسْوسَةٌ (Ṣ, M, A, Mṣb, Ḳ) and وِسْوَاسٌ, with kesr, (Ṣ, A, Mṣb, Ḳ,) and وَسْوَاسٌ, with fet-ḥ, is also allowable in the case of this and similar reduplicative verbs, (MF, voce ظَأْظَأَ,) or this last is a simple subst., (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ,) His mind, or soul, (Ṣ, M, A, &c.,) and the devil, (Ṣ, A, Mṣb, Ḳ,) prompted, or suggested to him [something], or talked to him, (Ṣ, M, Mṣb,) and [in him, or] in his bosom: (M:) or suggested to him, or talked to him of, (A,* Ḳ,) and suggested in him, or talked in him of, (TA,) what was vain, or unprofitable, and destitute of good: (A, Ḳ, TA:) and in like manner one says of the thoughts. (TA.) By the prep. ل by which it is made trans. in the Ḳur, in vii. 19, is meant إِلَى. (Ṣ, Mṣb.) You say also, وُسْوِسَ بِهِ [as though signifying properly He had vain things suggested in him by the devil, so that his mind was disturbed thereby, and] his speech became confused, and he became stupified, or deprived of his reason. (TA.)

[Hence also,] وَسْوَسَ الحَلْىُ, (M, A, Bḍ, in vii. 19,) inf. n. وَسْوَسَةٌ and وِسْوَاسٌ, (M,) ‡ The woman's ornament sounded, or made a sound or sounds: (M:) or made a low, or gentle, sound; or a chinking. (Bḍ, [who holds this to be a primary signification: but it is said in the A to be tropical.]) And وَسْوَسَ القَصَبُ ‡ [The reeds made a low sound; or rustling]. (A.) And سَمِعْتُ وِسْوَاسَهُ ‡ [I heard its low sounding, or its chinking; or its rustling]. (A.) See also وَسْوَاسٌ.

وَسْوَاسٌ a subst. from وَسْوَسَ; (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ;) signifying, [Speech, or talk, that is indistinct: or low, faint, gentle, or soft: or low,, &c., and confused: see 1.]

[And hence,] The soul's, or mind's, (Ṣ, M, Mṣb, Ḳ,) and the devil's, (Ḳ,) prompting, or suggestion, or talk, (Ṣ, M, Mṣb, Ḳ,) of what is vain, or unprofitable, and destitute of good; (Ḳ;) as alsoوَسْوَسَةٌ↓ [used as subst., in which case its pl. is وَسَاوِسُ, occurring below]. (Ṣ, Ḳ.)

[And hence,] † An evil, or unprofitable, idea, imagination, or thought, which bestirs itself in, or occurs to, the mind. (Mṣb.)

And [by a metonymy,] † A certain disease, [i. e. melancholia, in which is a doting in the imagination and judgment, a sort of delirium, vulgarly attributed to diabolical prompting or suggestion, but, it is said,] arising from a predominance of the black bile, attended with confusion of the intellect. (Mṣb.)

[And from the primary signification seem to be derived those which here follow.] † The low, or faintly heard, sound of the hunter and the dogs. (Ṣ, Ḳ.)

† A low or faint sound [or rustling] of wind; as alsoوَسْوَسَةٌ↓. (M.)

‡ The sounds, (Ṣ,) or sound, (M, Ḳ,) of women's ornaments: (Ṣ, M, Ḳ:) [the chinking thereof: see 1.]

Also, الوَسْوَاسُ The devil; (M, Ḳ;) a name of the devil: (Ṣ:) it occurs in verse 4 of the last chap. of the Ḳur; and is said to mean there ذُو الوَسْوَاسِ [the prompter, or suggester, of what is vain, or unprofitable, and destitute of good.] (M.)

مَرَضٌ وَسْوَاسِىٌّ [A disease of the nature of melancholia]. (Ḳ in art. عشق.)

مُوَسْوِسٌ, with kesr, A man subject to وَسَاوِس [or diabolical promptings, or suggestions, of vain, or unprofitable, things, and thereby confused in his intellect, or disordered in his mind]: (M:) an act. part. n., applied as an epithet to a man, because he to whom it is applied talks to himself: and one also says مُوَسْوَسٌ, [or مُوَسْوَسٌ إِلَيْهِ,] like المَغْضُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ: (Mṣb.) or, accord. to IAạr, one should not say مُوَسْوَسٌ. (TA.)