Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

مَجَسٌّ

Root: جس

Full Definition

مَجَسٌّ and ↓مَجَسَّةٌ The place which one feels with his hand, for the purpose of testing it, that he may form a judgment of it: and ↓ the latter, the place which the physician feels [to know if a patient be hot or cold]: pl. مَجَاسُّ. You say, ↓مَجَسَّتُهُ حَارَّةٌ [The place in which one feels him is hot]. And كَيْفَ تَرَى مَجَسَّهَا [How dost thou find the place in which one feels her?]; referring to a sheep or goat; to which one answers, "Indicative of fatness."
2 [Hence, Anything external which indicates the internal condition.] It is said in a prov., relating to camels, أَفْوَاهُهَا مَجَاسُّهَا, or مَجَاسُّهَا أَفْوَاهُهَا, or أَحْنَاكُهَا مَجَاسُّهَا, [Their mouths, or their palates, are the things which indicate their internal condition:] for if they eat well, he who looks at them sufficiently knows their fatness, without feeling them: if one see them eat well, it is as though he felt them: or, accord. to AZ, they feel the herbage, to test it, with their heads [or mouths] and their palates: so that, accord. to his explanation, the term مجاسّ is tropically applied to these parts. The prov. relates to external evidences of things explaining their internal qualities. [And hence,] رَعَتِ الإِبِلُ الكَلَأَ بِمَجَاسِّهَا, The camels cropped the herbage with their mouths.
3 You say also, فُلَانٌ وَاسِعُ المَجَسِّ, like as you say رَحْبُ الذِّرَاعِ [app. meaning Such a one is liberal, munificent, or generous]: and in the contrary case, ضَيِّقُ المَجَسِّ, or , or both, signifying غَيْرُ رَحْبِ الصَّدْرِ [app., not liberal]; and not وَاسِعُ السَّرْبِ [which is explained as meaning of ample bosom, and judgment, and love; and of ample way, or course of proceeding: but I rather incline to think that the right reading is وَاسِعُ السِّرْبِ, and the meaning, of ample, or large, mind, or heart]. You also say, إِنَّ فِى لَضِيقًا or مَجَسِّكَ [app,. Verily in thy bosom, or mind, or heart, is narrowness; or in thee is illiberality.]


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