Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

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البَارِحَةُ

Root: برح

Full Definition

البَارِحَةُ The next, or nearest, past, or preceding, night; yesternight: from بَرِحَ signifying زَالَ [“he, or it, went away” &c.]. [In modern Arabic, Yesterday; as also البَارِح.] It has no dim. formed from it. (Sb, in S, in art. أمس; and TA.) You say, لَقِيتُهُ البَارِحَة [I met, or met with, him, or it, last night, or yesternight]: and لَقِيتُهُ البَارِحَةَ الأُولَي [I met, or met with, him, or it, the night before last; this being the sense in which the phrase is now used by the learned: but the vulgar expression is أَوَّل البَارِحَة, generally pronounced أَوَّل اَمْبَارِحَهْ or أَوَّل اَمْبَارِحْ, agreeably with a peculiarity of the dial. of the people of El-Yemen, or of Teiyi and Himyer, by the substitution of اَمْ for اَلْ: see art. ام]. From daybreak to the time when the sun declines from the meridian, one says, رَأَيْتُ اللَّيْلَةَ فِى مَنَامِى [I saw to-night in my sleep ]; but when the sun has declined, one says, رَأَيْتُ البَارِحَةَ [I saw last night, or yesternight]: or one says, كَانَ كَذَا وَ كَذَا اللَّيْلَةَ [Such and such things happened to-night] until the sun is somewhat high and the day has become bright; but after this, one says, كَانَ البَارِحَةَ [It happened last night, or yesternight]. The Arabs say, مَا أَشْبَهَ اللَّيْلَةَ بِا لبَارِحَةِ How like is this night wherein we are to the former night that has departed! [or, this night to yesternight!]: originally occurring in a poem of Tarafeh: used as meaning “how like is the child to the father!” and applied to [any] two things resembling each other.
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