سفر

سَفَرٌ ذ Journey, or travel; the act of journeying or travelling; (S, A, K;) contr. of حَضَرٌ: (M, K:) thus called because of the going and coming in it, like the going and coming of the wind sweeping away fallen leaves: (M:) or the act of going forth to journey; an inf. n. used as a simple subst.: (Msb:) [therefore] the pl. is أسْفَارٌ: (S, M, A, Msb, K:) [and therefore it is often used as a n. un.; but, properly speaking, the n. un. is ↓ سَفْرَةٌ:] you say, كَانَتْ سَفْرَتُهُ قَرِيبَةً [ His journey was near ]: and the pl. of سَفْرَةٌ, accord. to rule, is سَفَرَاتٌ. (Msb.) In law, [as relating to the obligation of fasting &c.,] The going forth with the intention of performing a journey of three days and nights, or more. (KT.) -A2- Also The whiteness of dawn or daybreak: (A:) or the whiteness of the day: (S, M:) and i. q. صَبَاحٌ [ dawn, or morning, or forenoon; but app. here used in the first of these senses]: (M:) and ↓ سَفِيرٌ, the whiteness [ of the sky ] before night: (A, TA:) or the former, the remains of the whiteness of day after sunset. (K.) You say سَفَرًا i. e. صَبَاحًا [app. as meaning In the dawn ]. (A.) And the prose-rhymer says, اـِذَا طَلَعَتِ الشِّعْرَى سَفَرًا لَمْ تَرَفِيهَا مَطَرًا (S, * TA) i. e. When Sirius rises in the whiteness of day [meaning in the clear twilight of morning, thou seest not then rain: for Sirius rises aurorally, in Arabia, in the middle and the latter half of July, when rain scarcely ever falls there]. (S. [Accord. to the TA, the meaning, app. taken without consideration from one of the foregoing explanations of سَفَرٌ, is, when Sirius rises at nightfall: but this is during the usual winter-rains.]) You say also, لَقِيتُهُ سَفَرًا, and فِى سَفَرٍ, meaning ↓ عِنْدَا@سْفِرَارِ الشَّمْسِ لِلغُرُوبِ, thus related, with س [in the word اسفرار (not with ص), and app. meaning I met him when the sun was becoming white, previously to the setting ]. (M.) And بَقِىَ سَفَرٌ مِنْ نَهَارٍ [ There remained a white gleam of daylight ]. (A.)