سَفِلٌ

Full Definition

سَفِلٌ from سَفِلَ, and سَفِيلٌ from سَفُلَ, A low, base, vile, ignoble, mean, or sordid, man: or signifies low ( سَافِلٌ ) [in condition], deficient in lot, or fortune: and سَفِلَةٌ , said by some to be from this word as signifying the “ legs ” of a camel or of a beast, or quadruped, and سِفْلَةٌ , a contraction of سَفِلَةٌ, (S, Mgh, Msb, or it may be pl. of سَفِيلٌ , like as عِلْيَةٌ is of عَلِىٌّ, low, base, vile, ignoble, mean, or sordid, persons; or the lowest, or lower, basest, or baser, vilest, or viler, &c., of mankind, or of people; the refuse, or rabble, thereof: and سِفِلَةٌ , with two kesrehs, is a dial. var. of سَفِلَةٌ and سِفْلَةٌ, mentioned by Sgh and IB on the authority of Yoo and IKh, and is said to mean the lowest, basest, &c., of the low, base, &c.: the pl. of سِفْلَةٌ is سِفَلٌ; one should not say, هُوَ سَفِلَةٌ because this is [used only as] a pl.: the vulgar say رَجُلٌ سِفْلَةٌ مِنْ قَوْمٍ سِفَلٍ; but this has been disallowed: a man is related to have said to his wife, who had called him سِفْلَةٌ, إِنْ كُنْتُ سِفْلَةً فَأَنْتِ طَالِقٌ, meaning If I be low, base, &c., in my intellect and my religion [thou art divorced]; whence it seems that سِفْلَةٌ may be applied to a single person; but this requires consideration. أَيْمَانُ means [The oaths] of the ignorant: or accord. to Aboo- Haneefeh, of the heretics, or schismatics: such [oaths] are said to be وَوَجْهِ ٱللّٰهِ and وَأمَانَةِ ٱللّٰه.

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