← Back to Lisan al-Arab

غفف

Root entry · 7 derived lemmas

The root غفف primarily relates to a small amount, sufficiency, or a meager portion of sustenance, food, or provisions. It extends to concepts of taking a little, a remnant, or a quick snatch of something, particularly food or herbage.

Derived headwords

الغُفَّةnoun
  1. 1.
    Sufficiency of livingboth

    Enough to live on; the basic necessities of life.

  2. 2.
    Meager portionboth

    A small amount of food or sustenance.

  3. 3.
    Mouseclassical

    Specifically, a mouse, considered as food for a cat.

  4. 4.
    Remnantboth

    The remaining part of something in a container or on a udder.

  5. 5.
    Quick snatchclassical

    What a camel snatches with its mouth hastily.

غُفَّةnoun
  1. 1.
    Small amount of spring pastureclassical

    A limited quantity of fresh spring vegetation.

  2. 2.
    Old herbageclassical

    Dry, old grass, considered poor quality.

اغتفَّتverb
  1. 1.
    To obtain a littleboth

    To get a small amount of spring pasture or herbage, not much.

  2. 2.
    To gain some weightclassical

    To become somewhat fatter or healthier.

  3. 3.
    To eat fodderclassical

    To consume animal feed or fodder.

  4. 4.
    To acquire wealthclassical

    To obtain a moderate amount of wealth or provisions.

اغتِفَافnoun
  1. 1.
    Eating fodderclassical

    The act of consuming animal feed.

  2. 2.
    Moderate acquisitionclassical

    The act of obtaining a moderate amount of provisions or wealth.

تَغَفَّفَverb
  1. 1.
    To obtain a littleboth

    To get a small amount of spring pasture or herbage, not much.

  2. 2.
    To gain some weightclassical

    To become somewhat fatter or healthier.

تَغَفَّفَهُverb
  1. 1.
    To take a little ofboth

    To take a small portion of something, like food or provisions.

غَفَّverb
  1. 1.
    To dry upclassical

    Used to describe the drying of wet palm leaves.

Parallel reading

الغفة: البلغة من العيش
Al-ghuffah: The sufficiency of living.
لا خير في طمع يدني إلى طبع، ... وغفة من قوام العيش تكفيني
There is no good in greed that brings one to ruin, ... and a sufficiency from the essentials of life is enough for me.
والفأرة غفة الهر أي قوته
And the mouse is the cat's ghuffah, meaning its sustenance.
وقيل: الغفة الفأرة
And it was said: Al-ghuffah is the mouse.
يدير النهار بجشء له، ... كما عالج الغفة الخيطل.
He spends the day tending to it with a jash' (light arrow or stick) in his hand, ... as the Khaytal (civet cat) treated the ghuffah (mouse).
الغفة والغبة: القليل من العيش.
Al-ghuffah and al-ghubbah: The little of sustenance.
الغفة: الشيء القليل من الربيع.
Al-ghuffah: The small amount of spring (pasture).
اغتفت الفرس والخيل وتغففت: نالت غفة من الربيع ولم تكثر
The mare and horses ate (igtahaffat and taghataffat): they obtained a little spring pasture and not much.
وقيل: إذا سمن بعض السمن.
And it was said: if they gained some fatness.
والاغتفاف: تناول العلف.
And al-igtifaf: eating fodder.
وقيل: الغفة كلأ قديم بال وهو شر الكلإ.
And it was said: Al-ghuffah is old, withered herbage, and it is the worst of herbage.
وغفة الإناء والضرع: بقية ما فيه.
And the ghuffah of a vessel and an udder: the remainder of what is in it.
وتغففه: أخذ غفته.
And taghataffahu: he took his ghuffah (a little of it).
اغتفت المال اغتفافا، وهو الكلأ المقارب والسمن المقارب
Igtahaffa al-mal igtifafan, meaning the approaching herbage and the approaching fatness.
وكنا إذا ما اغتفت الخيل غفة، ... تجرد طلاب الترات مطلب
And we, when the horses grazed a little, ... the seekers of vengeance would set out, a seeker.
والغفة: كالخلسة أيضا، وهو ما تناوله البعير بفيه على عجلة منه.
And al-ghuffah: is also like a snatch, which is what a camel takes with its mouth in haste.
ويقال لما يبس من ورق الرطب: غف وقف.
And what has dried of the palm leaves is called ghaffa wa qaffa.