← Back to Lisan al-Arab

سلعم

Root entry · 2 derived lemmas

This root appears to relate to physical descriptions, specifically concerning the mouth and nose, and by extension, can be used metaphorically to describe a wolf or a cunning individual.

Derived headwords

سَلْعَامadjective
  1. 1.
    long-nosedclassical

    Describing a man with a long and slender nose.

  2. 2.
    wide-mouthedclassical

    Describing someone with a wide mouth.

أبو سَلَعَامَةname
  1. 1.
    the wolfclassical

    A name or epithet referring to the wolf, often used in proverbs or comparisons.

Parallel reading

رجل سلعام: طويل الأنف دقيقه
A man, sal'am: long-nosed and slender.
وقيل: السلعام الواسع الفم
And it was said: as-sal'am is wide-mouthed.
هو أخبث من أبي سلعامة، وهو الذئب
He is more cunning than Abu Sal'amah, who is the wolf.
مرغنات لأخلج الشدق سلعام
Responding to the call of a dog with a wide mouth, sal'am...
مرغنات أي مصغيات لدعاء كلب أخلج الشدق واسعه
Murghinat means listening attentively to the call of a dog with a wide, spacious mouth.