سكف

Root entry · 15 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the threshold of a door and related architectural elements. It extends to describe the eyelids and eyelashes, and metaphorically, a skilled craftsman or someone adept at a task.

Derived headwords

الأسْكَفَةnoun

1.
doorstepboth
The threshold of a door, the part one steps on.

الأسْكُوفَةnoun

1.
doorstepclassical
An alternative term for the doorstep or threshold of a door.

السَّاكِفnoun

1.
door frame partclassical
The upper part of the door frame where the pivot of the door turns.

الصَّائِرnoun

1.
door pivotclassical
The lower part of the door, at the end of which the upper pivot turns.

اسْتَكْفَّverb

1.
to shrinkclassical
To shrink or contract, referring to an object.

تَسَكَّفَverb

1.
to enter a houseclassical
To enter a house, used metaphorically to mean not entering someone's home.

لا أتسكف لك بيتا مأخوذ من الأسكفة أي لا أدخل له بيتا — I will not enter a house for you, derived from 'askafah' meaning I will not enter a house for him.

الأسْكَفnoun

1.
eyelash rootsboth
The place where eyelashes grow.
2.
eyelashesclassical
The eyelashes themselves.

تخيل عينا حالكا أسكفها — Imagining an eye whose eyelashes are dark.

أسْكَفَهاverb

1.
to grow eyelashesclassical
To have eyelashes growing, referring to the part where they grow.

أسكفها: منابت أشفارها — Its eyelash roots: the place where its eyelashes grow.

ذَرْفَهاnoun

1.
tearsboth
Tears, the fluid that comes from the eyes.

لا يعزب الكحل السحيق ذرفها يقول: هذا خلقة فيها ولا كحل ثم — The fine kohl does not escape its tears, meaning it is a natural feature and not from added kohl.

الإسْكَافnoun

1.
craftsmanboth
A craftsman or artisan, generally.
2.
shoemakerboth
Specifically, a shoemaker or cobbler.
3.
skilled personclassical
A person who is skilled or adept at a particular task or matter.

والإسكاف واحد الأساكفة — And the 'iskāf' is one of the 'asākifah' (craftsmen).

والسيكف والأسكف والأسكوف والإسكاف كله الصانع، أيا كان، وخص بعضهم به النجار — And 'sīkaf', 'askaf', 'uskūf', and 'iskāf' all refer to a craftsman, whoever it may be, and some specified it as a carpenter.

الأَسَاكِفَةnoun

1.
craftsmenboth
Plural of 'iskāf', referring to craftsmen or artisans.

السَّكَافَةnoun

1.
craftsmanshipclassical
The skill or work of a craftsman.

أسْكَفَverb

1.
to become a shoemakerclassical
A man becoming a shoemaker or craftsman.

أسكف الرجل إذا صار إسكافا — A man becomes an 'iskāf' if he becomes a shoemaker.

الإسْكَافnoun

1.
skilled personclassical
A skilled person, particularly in a specific task.

إنك لإسكاف بهذا الأمر أي حاذق — You are a skilled person in this matter, meaning adept.

إسْكَافnoun

1.
shoemakerclassical
A term for a shoemaker or cobbler.

Parallel reading

ما بال لومكها وجئت تعتلها، ... حتى اقتحمت بها أسكفة الباب كلاهما حين جد الجري بينهما ... قد أقلعا، وكلا أنفيهما رابي

What is the matter with blaming her, and you came to make excuses for her, ... until you forced your way through the doorstep of the door with them, both when the running between them intensified ... they had stopped, and both their nostrils were flaring.

وجعله أحمد بن يحيى من استكف الشيء أي انقبض.

And Ahmad bin Yahya considered it from 'istakaffa al-shay'' meaning it contracted.

قال ابن جني: وهذا أمر لا ينادى وليده.

Ibn Jinni said: And this is a matter whose offspring is not called out.

أبو سعيد: يقال لا أتسكف لك بيتا مأخوذ من الأسكفة أي لا أدخل له بيتا.

Abu Sa'id said: It is said, 'I will not 'tassakafu' for you a house,' derived from 'al-askafah', meaning 'I will not enter a house for him'.

الأسكف: منابت الأشفار، وقيل: شعر العين نفسه؛ الأخيرة عن ابن الأعرابي؛ وأنشد:

Al-askaf: the roots of the eyelashes, and it was said: the hair of the eye itself; the latter from Ibn al-A'rabi; and he recited:

تخيل عينا حالكا أسكفها، ... لا يعزب الكحل السحيق ذرفها

Imagine an eye whose eyelashes are dark, ... the fine kohl does not escape its tears.

أسكفها: منابت أشفارها، وقوله لا يعزب الكحل السحيق ذرفها يقول: هذا خلقة فيها ولا كحل ثم، وذرفها: دمعها؛ وأنشد أيضا:

Its eyelash roots: the place where its eyelashes grow. And his saying 'the fine kohl does not escape its tears' means: this is a natural feature and not from added kohl, and 'dharfuha': its tears; and he also recited:

حوراء، في أسكف عينيها وطف، ... وفي الثنايا البيض من فيها رهف

A wide-eyed woman, with soft eyelashes around her eyes, ... and tenderness in the white teeth of her mouth.

الإسكاف واحد الأساكفة.

The 'iskāf' is one of the 'asākifah' (craftsmen).

والسيكف والأسكف والأسكوف والإسكاف كله الصانع، أيا كان، وخص بعضهم به النجار؛ قال:

And 'sīkaf', 'askaf', 'uskūf', and 'iskāf' all refer to a craftsman, whoever it may be, and some specified it as a carpenter; he said:

لم يبق إلا منطق وأطراف، ... وبردتان وقميص هفهاف، وشعبتا ميس براها إسكاف

Nothing remains but speech and fingers, ... and two cloaks and a flowing shirt, and two branches of a meswah that a craftsman shaped.

والمنطق والنطاق واحد، ويروى منطق، بفتح الميم، يريد كلامه ولسانه، وأراد بالأطراف الأصابع، وجعل النجار إسكافا على التوهم، أراد براها النجار؛ كما قال ابن أحمر:

And 'mantiq' and 'nitaq' are the same, and it is narrated 'mantaq' with a fatha on the mim, meaning his speech and tongue. And he intended by 'al-atraf' the fingers. And he considered the carpenter an 'iskāf' by analogy, meaning the carpenter shaped them; as Ibn Ahmar said:

لم تدر ما نسج اليرندج قبلها، ... ودراس أعوص دارس متخدد

She did not know what the black leather was woven from before her, ... and a difficult, ancient, and intermittent reading.

واليرندج: الجلد الأسود يعمل منه الخفاف، وظن ابن أحمر أنه ينسج، وأراد أنها غرة نشأت في نعمة، ولم تدر عويص الكلام، وقال الأصمعي: يقول خدعتها بكلام حسن كأنه أرندج منسوج، وقوله دارس متخدد أي يغمض أحيانا ويظهر أحيانا؛

And 'yarandaj': the black leather from which sandals are made. Ibn Ahmar thought it was woven. And he meant that she was a young, pampered creature who did not understand complex speech. And Al-Asma'i said: It means I deceived her with pleasant speech as if it were woven 'arandaj'. And his saying 'darisu mutakhaddid' means it sometimes closes and sometimes opens.

برية لم تأكل المرققا، ... ولم تذق من البقول فستقا

A creature that has not eaten finely ground food, ... nor tasted pistachios from the vegetables.

فتنتج لكم غلمان أشأم، كلهم ... كأحمر عاد ثم ترضع فتفطم

And they will produce for you unlucky youths, all of them ... like the red ones of 'Ad, then they are nursed and weaned.

جائف القرعة أصنع حسب أن القرعة معمولة؛ قال ابن بري: هذا مثل يقال لمن عمل عملا وظن أنه لا يصنع أحد مثله، فيقال: جائف القرعة أصنع منك، وحرفة الإسكاف السكافة والأسكفة؛ الأخيرة نادرة عن الفراء.

The one who scoops the lot is the most skilled, assuming the lot is made. Ibn al-Bari said: This is a proverb said to someone who does a deed and thinks no one can do the like of it, so it is said: 'The one who scoops the lot is more skilled than you.' And the craft of the shoemaker is 'al-sakafah' and 'al-askafah'; the latter is rare from Al-Farra'.

الإسكاف مصدره السكافة، ولا فعل له، ابن الأعرابي: أسكف الرجل إذا صار إسكافا.

The 'iskāf' has its source in 'al-sakafah', and it has no verb. Ibn al-A'rabi: A man becomes an 'iskāf' if he becomes a shoemaker.

والإسكاف عند العرب: كل صانع غير من يعمل الخفاف، فإذا أرادوا معنى الإسكاف في الحضر قالوا هو الأسكف؛ وأنشد:

And among the Arabs, 'al-iskāf' is every craftsman except one who makes sandals. If they wanted the meaning of 'iskāf' in settled areas, they said 'al-askaf'; and he recited:

وضع الأسكف فيه رقعا، ... مثل ما ضمد جنبيه الطحل

The 'askaf' placed patches on it, ... like the 'tahl' (a type of camel saddle) bound its sides.

قول من قال كل صانع عند العرب إسكاف غير معروف؛ قال ابن بري: وقول الأعشى: أرندج إسكاف خطا خطأ.

The saying of whoever said that every craftsman among the Arabs is an 'iskāf' is not known. Ibn al-Bari said: And the saying of Al-A'sha: 'arandaj iskāf khata' is an error.

سمعت ابن الفقعسي يقول: إنك لإسكاف بهذا الأمر أي حاذق؛ وأنشد يصف بئرا:

I heard Ibn al-Fuq'asi say: You are an 'iskāf' in this matter, meaning skilled; and he recited describing a well:

حتى طويناها كطي الإسكاف

Until we folded it like the folding of the 'iskāf'.

قال: والإسكاف الحاذق، قال: ويقال رجل إسكاف وأسكوف للخفاف.

He said: And 'al-iskāf' is the skilled one. He said: And it is said a man is an 'iskāf' and 'uskūf' for sandals.