وصف

Root entry · 14 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the act of describing, characterizing, or defining something. It extends to the concept of a description itself, a servant or attendant, and the specific grammatical concept of an adjective or attribute.

Derived headwords

وَصَفَverb

1.
he described the thing, from the category of 'waʿada'both
he described the thing, from the category of 'waʿada'

وَصْفnoun

1.
he described the thing, from the category of 'waʿada'both
he described the thing, from the category of 'waʿada'

وَصْفَةnoun

1.
descriptionboth
An account of something, often implying a specific set of characteristics.
2.
prescriptionboth
A medical instruction detailing how to use a treatment.

تَوَاصَفَverb

1.
to describe each otherclassical
To describe something mutually or to describe each other.
2.
to be describedclassical
To be characterized or have qualities attributed to it.

اتَّصَفَverb

1.
the thing: it became mutually describedboth
the thing: it became mutually described

مُوَاصَفَةnoun

1.
sale by descriptionclassical
A transaction where an item is sold based on its description rather than direct visual inspection.

وَصِيفnoun

1.
servantboth
A male or female attendant or domestic helper.
2.
pageclassical
A young male attendant, especially one serving a person of rank.

وَصَافَةnoun

1.
servitudeclassical
The state or condition of being a servant or attendant.
2.
attendant statusclassical
The condition of being a young attendant or servant.

وَصَائِفnoun

1.
the plural is 'waṣāʾif'both
the plural is 'waṣāʾif'

اسْتَوْصَفَverb

1.
he asked the doctor for his ailment: he asked him to describe what he should treat himself withboth
he asked the doctor for his ailment: he asked him to describe what he should treat himself with

صِفَةnoun

1.
one of the platforms/benchesboth
one of the platforms/benches
2.
also a descriptionboth
also a description

وَصِيفَةnoun

1.
for the girl, 'waṣīfah'both
for the girl, 'waṣīfah'

وَصْفَاءnoun

1.
servantsclassical
Plural of 'waṣīf', referring to male servants or attendants.

نَعْتnoun

1.
adjectiveboth
A word that describes a noun, equivalent to 'ṣifah' in grammatical terms.
2.
attributeboth
A quality or characteristic.

Parallel reading

وصفت الشئ وصفا وصفة.

I described the thing with a description and a prescription.

والهاء عوض من الواو.

And the 'ha' is a substitute for the 'waw'.

وتواصفوا الشئ من الوصف.

And they described the thing to each other based on the description.

واتصف الشئ، أي صار متواصفا.

And the thing became characterized, meaning it became described.

إني كفاني من أمر هممت به جار كجار الحذافي الذي اتصفا

Indeed, what sufficed me from a matter I intended was a neighbor like the neighbor of the sandgrouse, who became characterized (by good neighborliness).

أي صار موصوفا بحسن الجوار.

Meaning he became described by good neighborliness.

إذا ما أدلجت وصفت يداها لها الإدلاج ليلة لا هجوع

When it traveled by night, its forelegs described the night's travel, with no slumber.

يريد أجادت السير.

He means it excelled in its pace.

وبيع المواصفة: أن تبيع الشئ بصفة، من غير رؤية.

And sale by description (al-muwāṣafah) is: selling a thing by its description, without seeing it.

والوصيف: الخادم غلاما كان أو جارية.

And the waṣīf: the servant, whether a boy or a girl.

يقال وصف الغلام، إذا بلغ حد الخدمة، فهو وصيف بين الوصافة.

It is said the boy became a waṣīf when he reached the age of service, so he is a waṣīf, exhibiting servitude.

والجمع وصفاء.

And the plural is 'wuṣafā'.

وربما قالوا للجارية وصيفة بينة الوصافة والإيصاف.

And sometimes they say of a girl, she is a waṣīfah, clearly exhibiting servitude and being a servant.

والجمع الوصائف.

And the plural is 'al-waṣā'if'.

واستوصفت الطبيب لدائي، إذا سألته أن يصف لك ما تتعالج به.

And I asked the physician for a description (istawṣaftu) for my illness, if you ask him to describe to you what you should treat yourself with.

والصفة كالعلم والسواد، وأما النحويون فليس يريدون بالصفة هذا، لأن الصفة عندهم هي النعت.

And the ṣifah is like a mark or blackness; but as for the grammarians, they do not mean this by ṣifah, because the ṣifah for them is the na't.

رأيت أخاك الظريف، فالاخ هو الموصوف والظريف هو الصفة

I saw your witty brother; the brother is the described one, and the witty one is the attribute.

فلهذ قالوا: لا يجوز أن يضاف الشئ إلى صفته، كما لا يجوز أن يضاف إلى نفسه، لان الصفة هي الموصوف عندهم.

For this reason, they said: it is not permissible to add a thing to its attribute, just as it is not permissible to add it to itself, because the attribute is the described one for them.