Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

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سَحَابٌ

Root: سحب

Full Definition

سَحَابٌ [termed in the S and K pl. of سَحَابَةٌ, as also سُحُبٌ and سَحَائِبُ,] is, accord. to As, [correctly,] a coll. gen. n., used alike as masc. and fem. and sing. and pl.; and سَحَابَةٌ is its n. un.; and سُحُبٌ is pl. of سَحَابٌ or of سَحَابَةٌ; it may be pl. of either of these; and سَحَائِبُ is pl. of سَحَابَةٌ absolutely, and of سَحَابٌ when used as fem.: it signifies Clouds [or a collection of clouds]; and [clouds] from which the rain comes: so called because drawn along in the air; or because they draw along one another; or because the winds draw them along; or because they draw along their fringes. (TA in art. حبو.) One says, مَطَرَتْهُمُ السَّحَابَةُ [The cloud rained upon them].
2 [Hence,] أَقَمْتُ عِنْدَهُ سَحَابَةَ نَهَارِى I remained at his abode the whole of my day: originally said in relation to a cloudy day; and then proverbially used in relation to any day. And مَا زِلْتُ أَفْعَلُهُ سَحَابَةَ يَوْمِى I ceased not to do it the whole of my day.
3 مَآءُ السَّحَابِ [properly The water of the clouds] is a term for wine. (TA in art. جفن.)
4 السَّحَابُ is a name of The Prophet's turban; it was thus called as being likened to the سحاب of the rain because of its being drawn along in the air.
5 Also the name of A sword of Dirar Ibn-El-Khattáb.
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