ع ص ف

ع ص ف

Arabic

Etymology

Metathesis of عَفَصَ‎ (ʿafaṣa). The forms and ideas of عُصَافَة‎ (ʿuṣāfa, “chaff”) or refuse of corn in a society that attained agriculture only late are derivative to that of an oakgall عَفْص‎ (ʿafṣ). Note also عِنْفَص‎ (ʿinfaṣ, “bung-hole of a waterclock”). Distantly related to the root ع ص ر‎ (ʿ-ṣ-r).

Root

ع ص ف • (ʿ-ṣ-f)

1. related to wind and blowing
2. related to corn

Derived terms

• Form I: عَصَفَ‎ (ʿaṣafa)
  • Verbal noun: عَصْف‎ (ʿaṣf), عُصُوف‎ (ʿuṣūf)
  • Active participle: عَاصِف‎ (ʿāṣif)
  • Passive participle: مَعْصُوف‎ (maʿṣūf)
• Form IV: أَعْصَفَ‎ (ʾaʿṣafa)
  • Verbal noun: إِعْصَاف‎ (ʾiʿṣāf)
  • Active participle: مُعْصِف‎ (muʿṣif)
  • Passive participle: مُعْصَف‎ (muʿṣaf)
• Form VIII: اِعْتَصَفَ‎ (iʿtaṣafa)
  • Verbal noun: اِعْتِصَاف‎ (iʿtiṣāf)
  • Active participle: مُعْتَصِف‎ (muʿtaṣif)
  • Passive participle: مُعْتَصَف‎ (muʿtaṣaf)

• عَصِيفَة‎ (ʿaṣīfa, “green leaves around an ear of corn”)
• عَصُوف‎ (ʿaṣūf, “violent and cold”)
• عُصَافَة‎ (ʿuṣāfa, “chaff”)

References

• Corriente, Federico; Pereira, Christophe; Vicente, Angeles, editors (2017) Dictionnaire du faisceau dialectal arabe andalou. Perspectives phraséologiques et étymologiques (in French), Berlin: De Gruyter, page 869
• Freytag, Georg (1835), “ع ص ف”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 167
• Kazimirski, Albin de Biberstein (1860), “ع ص ف”, in Dictionnaire arabe-français contenant toutes les racines de la langue arabe, leurs dérivés, tant dans l’idiome vulgaire que dans l’idiome littéral, ainsi que les dialectes d’Alger et de Maroc (in French), volume 2, Paris: Maisonneuve et C^ie, page 272