قسورة
Arabic
Etymology
The four possible definitions given were all recorded by Al-Tabari, but most have no supported etymology. In the "lion" sense, the word is claimed to be a borrowing from an Ethiopian language, though it is possible that it is of South Arabian origin and that the extreme southern end of Arabia was conflated with Abyssinia; compare Hobyót ḳaṣ̂áwrət, the plural of ḳáyṣ̂ər (“leopard”).
Noun
قَسْوَرَة • (qaswara) f
- (Qur'anic hapax) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include: lion, hunters, archers, group of men
- See also: Thesaurus:أسد
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 74:50-51:
- كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنْفِرَةٌ / فَرَّتْ مِنْ قَسْوَرَةٍ
- kaʾannahum ḥumurun mmustanfiratun / farrat min qaswaratin
- As if they were frightened donkeys / Fleeing from a lion
Usage notes
- Modern translations and interpretations almost universally translate this word as “lion”.