ضيف

ضَيْفٌ ذ A guest: and guests: (MA:) so called because adjoined to the family and fed with them: (Ham p. 124:) it is applied to one, and to a pl. number, (S, M, MA, O, Msb, K,) and to a male and to a female, (S, O, Msb, K,) because it is originally an inf. n.: (MA, Msb:) [as a sing.,] i. q. ↓ مُضَيَّفٌ, (M,) which is syn. with نَزِيلٌ: (TA:) and applied to a pl. number, it may be pl. [or rather a quasi-pl. n.] of ↓ ضَائِفٌ, which is syn. with نَازِلٌ; thus being of the class of زَوْزٌ and صَوْمٌ: (M:) and it is also pluralized, having for its pls. أَضْيَافٌ and ضِيفَانٌ (S, M, MA, O, Msb, K) and ضُيُوفٌ (S, M, MA, O, K) and ضِيَافٌ, (MA, TA,) the first of which is properly a pl. of pauc., but is also used as a pl. of mult.: (M:) and a female is termed ضَيْفَةٌ as well as ضَيْفٌ: (S, M, O, Msb, K:) El-Ba'eeth says, لَقًى حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهْىَ ضَيْفَةٌ [ A castaway with whom his mother became pregnant while she was a guest ]: (S, M, O:) or, accord. to AHeyth, the meaning here is that which follows. (O.) ― -b2- ضَيْفَةٌ applied to a woman signifies also Menstruating: (O, K:) so says AHeyth with reference to the citation above from El-Ba'eeth. (O.)