Edward William Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, ز

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زَرَافَةٌ ذ (S, Msb, K) and ↓ زُرَافَةٌ (Msb as on the authority of A'Obeyd [but not found by me elsewhere in the sense here assigned to it]) and ↓ زَرَافَّةٌ , [which is of a rare form, like حَمَارَّةٌ, q. v.,] (A'Obeyd, IF, S, Msb, K,) this last mentioned by El-Kanánee, (A'Obeyd, S,) and by Kzz in his Jámi', but not known to A'Obeyd on any other authority than that of El-Kanánee, and the first is said by him (A'Obeyd) to be preferable, (TA,) A company, or congregated body, of men: (S, Msb, K:) or ten thereof: (K, TA:) accord. to some copies of the K what is termed an عَشِيرَة [i. e. a small portion of a tribe, &c.,] thereof: (TA:) pl. زَرَافَاتٌ (IF, S, Mgh, Msb) and زَرَافَّاتٌ: (IF, Msb:) in a poem of Lebeed, زَرَّافَات, with teshdeed to the ر. (TA.) One says, أَتَانِى القَوْمُ ↓ بِزَرَافَّتَهِمْ [or بِزَرَافَتِهِمْ, i. e. The people, or party, came to me with their whole company; meaning, all together]. (TA.) -A2- Also زَرَافَةٌ and ↓ زُرَافَةٌ , (S, O, Mgh, L, Msb, K,) the latter, only, mentioned by IDrd, (TA,) who says, I doubt whether it be a genuine Arabic word, or not, (Msb, TA,) but some say that the latter is vulgar, (TA,) and ↓ زَرَافَةٌ and ↓ زُرَافَّةٌ , (O, L, Msb, K,) but the first of these four is the most chaste, (L, TA,) [The camelopard, or giraffe;] a certain beast, (S, K, [in the Mgh erroneously said to be a beast of prey,]) of beautiful make, the fore legs of which are longer than its kind legs; (TA;) said to be called by a name signifying جَمَاعَةٌ because it has the form of an assemblage of animals; (Msb;) in Pers. called أُشْتُرْ گَاوْ پَلَنْك, (S, Mgh, K,) i. e. camel-ox-leopard, (TA,) because it has resemblances to the camel and the ox and the leopard: (K, TA:) pl. زَرَافَى, or زُرَافَى, or زَرَافِىُّ, (accord. to different copies of the K, the last accord. to the TA,) like زَرَابِىُّ. (TA.)