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وصف

Root entry · 17 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the act of describing, characterizing, or defining something. It extends to the qualities or attributes themselves, and also encompasses concepts related to selling based on description, and the state of being young or a servant.

Derived headwords

وَصَفَverb
  1. 1.
    to describeboth

    To characterize something by its attributes, qualities, or features.

  2. 2.
    to praiseclassical

    To describe something in a positive manner, often implying praise or commendation.

وَصْفnoun
  1. 1.
    descriptionboth

    The act or result of describing something; a portrayal of its characteristics.

  2. 2.
    qualityboth

    A characteristic or attribute of something.

صِفَةnoun
  1. 1.
    attributeboth

    A quality or characteristic that belongs to or describes something or someone.

  2. 2.
    descriptionboth

    A statement or account of the characteristics or appearance of someone or something.

  3. 3.
    adjectiveclassical

    In grammar, a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.

تَوَاصَفَverb
  1. 1.
    to describe to each otherclassical

    To mutually describe something to one another.

اسْتَوْصَفَverb
  1. 1.
    to ask to describeboth

    To request someone to describe something for you.

اتَّصَفَverb
  1. 1.
    to be describableclassical

    To be capable of being described or characterized.

  2. 2.
    to be characterized byboth

    To possess a particular quality or attribute.

وَصَّافadjective
  1. 1.
    very descriptiveclassical

    One who is skilled at describing things in detail.

مُوَاصَفَةnoun
  1. 1.
    sale by descriptionclassical

    A type of sale where the item is sold based on its description rather than being seen by the buyer.

وَصِيفnoun
  1. 1.
    young manclassical

    A young, often handsome, man.

  2. 2.
    servantboth

    A male servant or slave.

وَصِيفَةnoun
  1. 1.
    young womanclassical

    A young, often beautiful, woman.

  2. 2.
    female servantboth

    A female servant or slave.

أَوْصَفَverb
  1. 1.
    to become a young man/womanclassical

    To reach the age of youth or maturity, specifically for a young man or woman.

وَصَافَةnoun
  1. 1.
    youthfulnessclassical

    The state or quality of being young and vigorous.

  2. 2.
    servitudeclassical

    The state of being a servant or slave.

إِيصَافnoun
  1. 1.
    youthfulnessclassical

    The state of being young, particularly used for a young woman.

اسْتَوْصَفَverb
  1. 1.
    to ask for a prescriptionboth

    To ask a doctor to prescribe treatment for an ailment.

وَصْفَاءadjective
  1. 1.
    young and beautifulclassical

    Describing a young woman who is beautiful.

وَصَفَاءnoun
  1. 1.
    young menclassical

    Plural of 'waṣīf', referring to young men.

وَصَائِفnoun
  1. 1.
    young womenclassical

    Plural of 'waṣīfah', referring to young women.

Parallel reading

وَصَفَ الشيء له وعليه وصفا وصفة: حلاه
He described the thing for him and about him, with a description and a description: he adorned it.
والهاء عوض من الواو، وقيل: الوصف المصدر والصفة الحلية
And the 'ha' is a substitute for the 'waw', and it is said: 'al-waṣf' is the مصدر (verbal noun) and 'al-ṣifah' is the adornment.
الليث: الوصف وصفك الشيء بحليته ونعته.
Al-Layth said: 'al-waṣf' is your describing a thing by its adornment and its attribute.
وتواصفوا الشيء من الوصف.
And they described the thing to each other from the description.
وربنا الرحمن المستعان على ما تصفون ؛ أراد ما تصفونه من الكذب.
And our Lord, the Most Gracious, is the one sought for help concerning what you describe; meaning what you describe of falsehood.
واستوصفه الشيء: سأله أن يصفه له.
And he asked him to describe the thing: he asked him to describe it for him.
واتصف الشيء: أمكن وصفه؛
And the thing was describable: it was possible to describe it.
وما دمية من دمى ميسنان، ... معجبة نظرا واتصافا
And what a doll from the dolls of Maysanan, ... admirable to look at and to be described.
واتصف الشيء أي صار متواصفا؛
And the thing became characterized, meaning it became mutually described.
إني كفاني من أمر هممت به ... جار، كجار الحذاقي الذي اتصفا أي صار موصوفا بحسن الجوار.
Indeed, what sufficed me from a matter I intended... a neighbor, like the neighbor of Al-Hadhzaqi who became characterized, meaning he became described by good neighborliness.
ووصف المهر: توجه لحسن السير كأنه وصف الشيء.
And the colt described: it headed towards good gait as if it described the thing.
ويقال للمهر إذا توجه لشيء من حسن السير: قد وصف معناه أنه قد وصف المشي.
And it is said of the colt when it heads towards something of good gait: it has described, meaning it has described the walking.
إذا ما أدلجت، وصفت يداها ... لها الإدلاج، ليلة لا هجوع يريد أجادت السير.
When she traveled by night, her hands described... the night travel for her, a night without sleep, meaning she excelled in the journey.
وقيد إلى الظعينة أرحبي، ... جلال هيكل يصف القطارا
And tied to the riding-camel was a strong camel, ... a grand structure that describes the caravan.
وبيع المواصفة: أن يبيع الشيء من غير رؤية.
And the sale of 'al-muwāṣafah': is to sell a thing without seeing it.
وفي حديث الحسن أنه كره المواصفة في البيع ؛
And in the narration of Al-Hasan, he disliked 'al-muwāṣafah' in selling.
إذا باع شيئا عنده على الصفة لزمه البيع؛
If he sells something he has based on the description, the sale is binding on him.
وهو قول الشافعي، وأهل مكة لا يجيزون السلم إذا لم يكن إلى أجل معلوم.
And this is the saying of Al-Shafi'i, and the people of Mecca do not permit 'al-salaf' (forward payment) if it is not for a known period.
وهو أن يبيع ما ليس عنده ثم يبتاعه فيدفعه إلى المشتري، قيل له ذلك لأنه باع بالصفة من غير نظر ولا حيازة ملك.
And it is that he sells what he does not have, then buys it and delivers it to the buyer. It was called that because he sold by description without looking or possessing ownership.
إن لا يشف فإنه يصف أي يصفها، يريد الثوب الرقيق إن لم يبن منه الجسد فإنه لرقته يصف البدن فيظهر منه حجم الأعضاء، فشبه ذلك بالصفة كما يصف الرجل سلعته.
If it does not reveal, then it describes, meaning it describes it. It refers to thin clothing; if the body is not visible through it, then due to its thinness, it describes the body, making the size of the limbs apparent. This was likened to 'al-ṣifah' as a man describes his merchandise.
وغلام وصيف: شاب، والأنثى وصيفة.
And a 'waṣīf' boy: a young man, and the female is a 'waṣīfah'.
وفي حديث أم أيمن: أنها كانت وصيفة لعبد المطلب أي أمة، وقد أوصف ووصف وصافة.
And in the narration of Umm Ayman: she was a 'waṣīfah' to Abdul Muttalib, meaning a slave girl, and she had become a young woman, and described, and youthfulness.
أوصفت الجارية، ووصيف ووصفاء ووصيفة ووصائف.
The slave girl became a young woman, and 'waṣīf', 'waṣfā'', 'waṣīfah', and 'waṣā'if'.
وصيف بين الوصافة، وأما ثعلب فقال: بين الإيصاف، وأدخلاه في المصادر التي لا أفعال لها.
'Waṣīf' is between 'al-waṣāfah', and as for Tha'lab, he said: between 'al-īṣāf', and they included them among the verbal nouns that have no verbs.
أن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال له: كيف أنت وموت يصيب الناس حتى يكون البيت بالوصيف؟
That the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him: How will you be when death strikes people until a house is bought for a slave?
الوصيف: العبد، والأمة وصيفة؛
'Al-waṣīf': the slave, and the female slave is a 'waṣīfah'.
معناه أن الموت يكثر حتى يصير موضع قبر يشترى بعبد من كثرة الموت، مثل الموتان الذي وقع بالبصرة وغيرها.
Its meaning is that death becomes so frequent that a burial place becomes bought for a slave due to the abundance of death, like the plague that occurred in Basra and elsewhere.
والوصيف: الخادم، غلاما كان أو جارية.
And 'al-waṣīf': the servant, whether a boy or a girl.
ويقال وصف الغلام إذا بلغ الخدمة، فهو وصيف بين الوصافة، والجمع وصفاء.
And it is said the boy has 'waṣafa' when he reaches service, so he is a 'waṣīf' between 'al-waṣāfah', and the plural is 'waṣfā''.
وربما قالوا للجارية وصيفة بينة الوصافة والإيصاف، والجمع الوصائف.
And sometimes they say of a slave girl: a 'waṣīfah' clearly possessing 'al-waṣāfah' and 'al-īṣāf', and the plural is 'al-waṣā'if'.
واستوصفت الطبيب لدائي إذا سألته أن يصف لك ما تتعالج به.
And you asked the doctor for your illness if you asked him to describe to you what you should treat yourself with.
والصفة: كالعلم والسواد.
And 'al-ṣifah': is like a mark and blackness.
وأما النحويون فليس يريدون بالصفة هذا لأن الصفة عندهم هي النعت، والنعت هو اسم الفاعل نحو ضارب، والمفعول نحو مضروب وما يرجع إليهما من طريق المعنى نحو مثل وشبه، وما يجري مجرى ذلك، يقولون: رأيت أخاك الظريف، فالأخ هو الموصوف، والظريف هو الصفة، فلهذا قالوا لا يجوز أن يضاف الشيء إلى صفته كما لا يجوز أن يضاف إلى نفسه لأن الصفة هي الموصوف عندهم، ألا ترى أن الظريف هو الأخ؟
As for the grammarians, they do not mean this by 'al-ṣifah' because 'al-ṣifah' for them is 'al-na't' (adjective), and 'al-na't' is the active participle like 'ḍārib' (striker), and the passive participle like 'maḍrūb' (struck), and what relates to them in meaning like 'mithl' (like) and 'shibh' (resemblance), and what follows that. They say: 'I saw your witty brother', so the brother is the described one ('al-mawṣūf'), and 'al-ẓarīf' (witty) is the 'al-ṣifah'. For this reason, they said it is not permissible to add a thing to its 'ṣifah' as it is not permissible to add it to itself, because 'al-ṣifah' is the described one for them. Do you not see that 'al-ẓarīf' is the brother?