سر

سُرِّيَّةٌ ذ A concubine-slave; a female slave whom one takes as a possession and for concubitus; (M;) a female slave to whom one assigns a house, or chamber, in which he lodges her, (S, K,) and whom he takes as a possession and for concubitus: (TA:) of the measure فُعْلِيَّةٌ, (S, M, Mgh, Msb,) from سِرٌّ as signifying “ concubitus, ” (S, M, * Mgh, Msb, K,) or as signifying “ concealment, ” because a man often conceals and protects her from his wife; (S;) altered from the regular form of a rel. n., (S, M, Msb, K,) by its having damm [in the place of kesr]; (S, Msb;) for the rel. n. is sometimes thus altered, as in the instances of دُهْرِىٌّ from الدَّهْرُ and سُهْلِىٌّ from الأَرْضُ السَّهْلَةُ: (S:) or it is with damm to distinguish it from سِرِّيَّةٌ, which is applied to “ a free woman with whom one has sexual intercourse secretly, ” (Msb,) or “ one who prostitutes herself: ” (TA:) or it is from سُرٌّ in the sense of سُرُورٌ; because her owner rejoices in her; (Akh, * S, * Msb;) and if so, it is agreeable with analogy: (Msb:) so says A Heyth; and this is the best that has been said respecting it: (TA:) or it is of the measure فُعُّولَةٌ, from سَرْوٌ, (M, Mgh,) the latter و being changed into ى for euphony, and then the [other] و being incorporated into it and thus becoming ى like it, after which the dammeh is changed into a kesreh because the ى is next to it: (M:) the pl. is سَرَارِىُّ (ISk, S, TA) and سَرَارٍ; (ISk, TA;) the latter, by poetic license. (Ham p. 304.)