← Back to Al-Qamus al-Muhit

الوسف

Root entry · 3 derived lemmas

This root describes a condition of cracking or peeling, primarily associated with the hindquarters of a camel when it becomes fat. It can also refer to the shedding and regrowth of a camel's coat.

Derived headwords

الوَسِفnoun
  1. 1.
    crackingclassical

    A cracking or fissure that appears in the thigh and hindquarters of a camel, especially when it becomes fat. This condition can then spread.

تَوَسَّفَverb
  1. 1.
    to peelclassical

    To peel or become scaly, referring to the skin.

وَسِفَverb
  1. 1.
    to have crackingclassical

    A camel develops the condition of 'al-wasf' (cracking) on its body.

  2. 2.
    to become fertile and fatclassical

    A camel becomes fertile, fat, sheds its old coat, and grows a new one.

Parallel reading

الوَسِف: تشقق يبدو في فخذ البعير وعجزه عند السمن، ثم يعم فيه.
Al-wasf: a cracking that appears in the thigh and hindquarters of a camel when fat, then it spreads throughout.
وتوسف: تقشر
And 'tawassafa': to peel.
والبعير: ظهر به الوسف، أو أخصب وسمن، وسقط وبره الأول، ونبت الجديد.
And the camel: developed 'al-wasf', or became fertile and fat, shed its first coat of hair, and grew the new one.