إِبِلٌ

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إِبِلٌ said by Sb to be the only subst. of this form except حِبِرٌ, and to have none like it among epithets except بِلِزٌ; for though other instances are mentioned, they are not of established authority; but IJ mentions, with these, حِبِكٌ and إِطِلٌ [which may be of established authority]; [and to these may be added إِبِطٌ and إِبِدٌ, and perhaps نِكِحٌ and خِطِبٌ; respecting which see إِبِدٌ;] and for إِبِلٌ one says also , sometimes, by way of contraction; or this may be a dial. var. of the former; [Camels: and a herd of camels: or] at the least, applied to a صِرْمَة; i. e. a number [of camels] more than a ذَوْد [which is at least nine,] up to thirty; after which is the هَجْمَة, i. e. forty and upwards; and then, هُنَيْدَةُ, which is a hundred of إِبِل: or, accord. to Ibn-'Abbád, a hundred of إِبِل: it is a quasi-pl. n.; a word having no proper sing.; and is of the fem. gender, because the quasi-pl. n. that has no proper sing. is necessarily fem. when not applied to human beings, or when applied to irrational beings, and has ة added in the dim.; the dim. of إِبِلٌ being : it is said in the K that it is a sing. applied to a pl. number, and is not a pl., nor a quasi-pl. n.; but in this assertion together with the saying that the dim. is as above is a kind of contradiction; for if it be a sing., and not a quasi-pl. n., what is the reason of its being fem.? the pl. is آبَالٌ and أَبِيلٌ [like عَبِيدٌ pl. of عَبْدٌ, q. v.]; the pl. meaning herds [of camels]; and in like manner أَغْنَامٌ and أَبْقَارٌ mean flocks of sheep or goats and herds of bulls or cows: and the dual, إِبلَانِ, means two herds [of camels], each with its pastor; like as غَنَمَانِ means two flocks of sheep or goats: or, accord. to Ibn-'Abbád, the dual means two hundreds of إِبِل.
2 الإِبِلُ الصُّغْرَى [The smaller camels] is an appellation applied to sheep; because they eat more than goats. (IAar in TA art. ضبط.)
3 It is said in the Kur [lxxxviii. 17], أَفَلَا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى ٱلْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ, meaning, accord. to 'Aboo-Amr Ibn-El- 'Alà, [Will they not then consider] the clouds that bear the water for rain, [how they are created?] but accord. to him who reads الإِبْلِ, the meaning is, the camels.

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