Edward William Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, ث

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ثُمَامٌ ثمام [Panicum, or panic grass; applied to several species thereof; but restricted by Forskål (Flor. Aeg. Ar., descr. plant., p. 20, where its Arabic name is written “ tummâm, ” ) to panicum dichotomum; called by Delile (Flor. Aeg., no. 58, where its Arabic name is written “ temâm, ” ) pennisetum dichotomum; and described by him in the “ explication des planches ” accompanying his Flora, plate 8: the Arabs use it for making thatch for their huts:] a kind of plant, (T, S, Msb, K, [in the M termed شَجَرٌ,]) well known in the desert, not desired, or not much eaten, by the camels, or cattle, except in a case of scarcity, or drought; (T;) weak, or frail; having what are termed خُوص [q. v.], or what resemble خوص, sometimes used for stuffing, (S, TA,) and for stopping up the interstices of houses; (S, Msb, TA;) and sometimes used for removing whiteness from the eye: (K:) accord. to Az, it is of several species, one of which is the ضَعَة, and another is the جَلِيلَة, and another is the غَرَف, which resembles rushes (أُسَل), and brooms are made of it, and water-bags are covered with it to protect them from the sun, causing the water to become cool: (TA:) [see also أُمْصُوخَةٌ:] it is also called ↓ ثَيْمُومٌ , (K,) and ↓, [but see what follows,] (T, M,) which is sometimes contracted into ثُمَةٌ; (T;) or it is also called ↓ ثُمٌّ , of which ↓ ثُمَّةٌ is the n. un.: (AHn, TA:) the n. un. of ثُمَامٌ is [likewise] with ة. (S, M, Msb, K.) You say of a thing that may be reached, or taken with the hand, without difficulty, (T, Z, K,) هُوَ عَلَى طَرَفِ الثُّمَامِ, (IAar, T, M, Z, K, *,) i. e. (assumed tropical:) It is easy to thee, or within thy reach, no obstacle intervening between thee and it: (IAar, M:) because the ثمام is not tall, (T, K,) so that the reaching it should be difficult. (T.) And ↓ هُوَ لَكَ عَلَى رَأْسِ الثُّمَّةِ [meaning the same]. (M.) And ↓ هُوَ عَلَى رَأْسِ الثُّمَّةِ , (TA,) or لَكَ ذٰلِكَ ↓ عَلَى رَأْسِ الثُّمَّةِ , (assumed tropical:) [That is easy of attainment to thee], (M,) is a prov. used in relation to the attainment of a thing that one wants. (M, TA.) The Arabs also say, ↓ هُوَ أَبُوهُ عَلَى طَرَفِ الثُّمَّةِ , meaning (assumed tropical:) He is like his father: and some of them say ↓ الثَّمَّة , with fet-h. (TA.) And it is said in a trad. of 'Omar, اُغْزُوا وَالغَزْوُ حُلْوٌ خَضِرٌ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَصِيرَ ثُمَامًا ثُمَّ رُمَامًا ثُمَّ حُطَامًا (assumed tropical:) [Engage ye in predatory warfare while it is sweet and fresh], meaning, while ye see, and make abundant, your spoils, before it become feeble like the ثمام; [then, decayed; then, broken up.] (TA.) ― -b2- It also signifies What has become dry, or dried up, of the branches that are placed beneath the نَضَد [q. v.]. (M.)