أَسْوَدُ

Full Definition

أَسْوَدُ Greater, and greatest, in respect of estimation, rank, or dignity; syn. أَجَلُّ: and, as some say, more [and most] liberal or bountiful or munificent: or more [and most] clement or forbearing. One says, هُوَ أَسْوَدُ مِنْ فُلَانٍ He is greater &c. (أَجَلُّ) than such a one. And الأَسْوَدُ مِنَ القَوْمِ means The greatest &c. (الأَجَلُّ) of the people, or party.

def.2 Also Black; i. e. having سَوَاد, which is the contr. of بَيَاض: and أَسْوَدِىٌّ signifies the same as أَسْوَدُ: [or has an intensive signification, like أَحْمَرىٌّ:] the fem. of أَسْوَدُ is سَوْدَآءُ: the dim. of أَسْوَدُ is أُسَيِّدُ , and it is allowable to say , [as is shown by an ex. voce أَسَكُّ,] meaning [a little black thing; or blackish, or] approaching to black; and the abbreviated dim. is سُوَيْدٌ : the dim. of سَوْدَآءُ is سُوَيْدَآءُ : the pl. of أَسْوَدُ and of سَوْدَآءُ is سُودٌ and سُودَانٌ [which latter is especially applied to human beings]. السُّودَانُ is said in the R to denote [The negroes;] that particular people, or race, who are the most stinking of mankind in the armpits and sweat, and the more so those who are eunuchs. [It (i. e. السودان) is also sometimes used for أَرْضُ السُّودَانِ, or بِلَادُ السُّودَانِ, or the like: it is thus used in the TA voce سَمْغَرَةُ.] And the epithet أَسْوَدُ is also applied by the Arabs to a thing that is أَخْضَر [i. e. green]; because it appears to be thus at a distance. (Msb. [See أَخْضَرُ: and see حَدِيقَةٌ دَهْمَآءُ and مُدْهَامَّةٌ, voce أَدْهَمُ.])
2 [Hence,] أَسْوَدُ القَلْبِ and سَوْدَآؤُهُ: see سَوَادٌ.
3 [And السَّوْدَآءُ The black bile; one of the four humours of the body; of which the others are the yellow bile (الصَّفْرَآءُ), the blood (الدَّمُ), and the phlegm (البَلْغَمُ).]
4 أَسْوَدُ as opposed to أَحْمَرُ [and meaning The Arab race, and also, accord. to some, in this case also, the black]: see أَحْمَرُ, in two places.
5 As applied to a certain bird: see سُودَانِيَّةٌ, in two places.
6 Also, as a subst., or an epithet in which the quality of a subst. predominates, so that it is used as a subst., but imperfectly decl., A great serpent, in which is blackness: the worst and greatest and most noxious of serpents, than which there is none more daring, for sometimes it opposes itself to a company of travellers, and follows the voice, and it is that which seeks retaliation, and he who is bitten by it will not escape death: it is pluralized as a subst., its pl. being أَسَاوِدُ and أَسَاوِيدُ and أَسْوَدَاتٌ : were it an epithet [used as such], its pl. would be سُودٌ: it is also called أَسْوَدُ سَالِحٌ, because it casts off its slough every year: you do not say أَسْوَدُ سَالِخٍ: the female is called أَسْوَدَةٌ , which is extr.; and to this the epithet سَالِخَةٌ is not applied.
7 الأَسْوَدَانِ means The serpent and the scorpion; which are to be killed during prayer: so called by the attribution of predominance [to the former].
8 And Dates and water; both together being thus called by a term which properly applies to one only, [accord. to some,] for [they say that] الأَسْوَدُ alone signifies dates, not water, and especially, or mostly, the dates of El-Medeeneh; and in like manner, Aboo-Bekr and 'Omar together are called العُمَرَانِ; and the sun and the moon together, القَمَرَانِ: or, as some say, it means water and milk; and is applied by a rájiz to water and the herb called الفَثّ, of [the grain of] which bread is made, and is eaten [in time of dearth or drought]. See also سُوَيْدٌ.
9 Also The حَرَّة [or tract strewn with black and crumbling stones] and night: so called because of their blackness. A party came as guests to Muzebbid El-Medenee, and he said to them, “ There is nothing for you with us but the أَسْوَدَانِ: ” and they replied, “ Verily therein is a sufficiency: dates and water: ” but he said, “ I meant not that: I only meant the حَرَّة and the night. ” And as to the saying of 'Áïsheh, that she was with the Prophet when they had no food, but only the أَسْوَدَانِ, which is expl. by the lexicologists as meaning dates and water, [and thus by Mtr in the Mgh, ISd says,] in my opinion she only meant the حَرَّة and night.
10 هُوَ أَسْوَدُ الكَبِدِ [lit. He is black-livered] means he is an enemy: and سُودُ الأَكْبَادِ means enemies.
11 You say also, جَآءَ فُلَانٌ بِغَنَمِهِ سُودَ البُطُونِ, and, in like manner, حُمْرَ الكُلَى, both meaning Such a one brought his sheep, or goats, in a lean, or an emaciated, state. (As, S, and A in art. حمر.)
12 And رَمَى بِسَهْمِهِ الأَسْوَدِ He shot with his lucky arrow, that was smeared with blood, by means of which he looked for good fortune, because he had shot with it and hit the object shot at, or as though it were black with blood, or by its having been much handled.
13 And كَلَّمْتُهُ فَمَا رَدَّ عَلَىَّ سَوْدَآءَ وَلَا بَيْضَآءَ I spoke to him, and he did not return to me a bad word nor a good one: or a single word.
14 وَطْأَةٌ سَوْدَآءُ means A footstep, or footprint, that is becoming effaced: a recent one is termed حَمْرَآءُ.
15 السَّوْدَآءُ Cultivated, or planted, land; opposed to البَيْضَآءُ [q. v.]. (TA in art. بيض [See also سَوْدَةٌ.])
16 [But سَنَةٌ سَوْدَآءُ means A very severe year; more severe than such as is termed حَمْرَآءُ; which is more severe than the بَيْضآء, and still more so than the شَهْبَآء: see arts. شهب and حمر.]
17 الحَبَّةُ السَّوْدَآءُ, said in a trad. to be a remedy for every disease except death, i. q. الشُّونِيزُ [q. v.], as also , [i. e.] this latter signifies حَبَّةُ الشُّونِيزِ, or properly الشِّينِيز, for thus the Arabs called it accord. to IAar: or, as some say, i. q. الحَبَّةُ الخَضْرَآءُ [q. v. in art. حب], because the Arabs [often] call black أَخْضَر, and green أَسْوَد.

def.3 It is also used as an epithet denoting excess; but as such is anomalous, being formed from a verb whence the simple epithet is of the measure أَفْعَلُ: so in the saying, أَسْوَدُ مِنْ حَلَكِ الغُرَابِ [Blacker than the blackness, or intense blackness, of the crow, or raven: see حَلَكٌ]. (I'Ak p. 237. [See also its contr. أَبْيَضُ, voce بَيَاضٌ; and see Har p. 286.])

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