حجفة

Arabic

Etymology

From the otherwise sparsely attested root ح ج ف (ḥ-j-f) meaning “to parry”, “to deflect”, “to echo”, “to send back”, “to repel”; likely a variant of ح ج ب (ḥ-j-b).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ħa.d͡ʒa.fa/

Noun

حَجَفَة • (ḥajafa) f (plural حَجَف (ḥajaf) or حَجَفَات (ḥajafāt))

1. shield made of skins, without wood or sinews
   • 7th century CE, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 29:7:

     لَمْ تُقْطَعْ يَدُ سَارِقٍ فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي أَقَلَّ مِنْ ثَمَنِ الْمِجَنِّ حَجَفَةٍ أَوْ تُرْسٍ وَكِلاَهُمَا ذُو ثَمَنٍ‏.‏

     During the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) the hand of a thief was not cut off for less than the price of a shield, skin-shield or scutum, and both of them are valuable.

Declension

Declension of noun حَجَفَة (ḥajafa)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حَجَفَة ḥajafa	الْحَجَفَة al-ḥajafa	حَجَفَة ḥajafat
Nominative	حَجَفَةٌ ḥajafatun	الْحَجَفَةُ al-ḥajafatu	حَجَفَةُ ḥajafatu
Accusative	حَجَفَةً ḥajafatan	الْحَجَفَةَ al-ḥajafata	حَجَفَةَ ḥajafata
Genitive	حَجَفَةٍ ḥajafatin	الْحَجَفَةِ al-ḥajafati	حَجَفَةِ ḥajafati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حَجَفَتَيْن ḥajafatayn	الْحَجَفَتَيْن al-ḥajafatayn	حَجَفَتَيْ ḥajafatay
Nominative	حَجَفَتَانِ ḥajafatāni	الْحَجَفَتَانِ al-ḥajafatāni	حَجَفَتَا ḥajafatā
Accusative	حَجَفَتَيْنِ ḥajafatayni	الْحَجَفَتَيْنِ al-ḥajafatayni	حَجَفَتَيْ ḥajafatay
Genitive	حَجَفَتَيْنِ ḥajafatayni	الْحَجَفَتَيْنِ al-ḥajafatayni	حَجَفَتَيْ ḥajafatay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote‎; sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حَجَف‎; حَجَفَات ḥajaf‎; ḥajafāt	الْحَجَف‎; الْحَجَفَات al-ḥajaf‎; al-ḥajafāt	حَجَف‎; حَجَفَات ḥajaf‎; ḥajafāt
Nominative	حَجَفٌ‎; حَجَفَاتٌ ḥajafun‎; ḥajafātun	الْحَجَفُ‎; الْحَجَفَاتُ al-ḥajafu‎; al-ḥajafātu	حَجَفُ‎; حَجَفَاتُ ḥajafu‎; ḥajafātu
Accusative	حَجَفًا‎; حَجَفَاتٍ ḥajafan‎; ḥajafātin	الْحَجَفَ‎; الْحَجَفَاتِ al-ḥajafa‎; al-ḥajafāti	حَجَفَ‎; حَجَفَاتِ ḥajafa‎; ḥajafāti
Genitive	حَجَفٍ‎; حَجَفَاتٍ ḥajafin‎; ḥajafātin	الْحَجَفِ‎; الْحَجَفَاتِ al-ḥajafi‎; al-ḥajafāti	حَجَفِ‎; حَجَفَاتِ ḥajafi‎; ḥajafāti

Derived terms

• حَاجَفَ (ḥājafa, “to oppose, to repel; to fence against”)
• اِحْتَجَفَ (iḥtajafa, “to turn away”)

Descendants

• Ge'ez: ሐገፋ (ḥägäfa, “shield”)

References

• “حجفة” in Almaany
• Freytag, Georg (1830) “حجفة”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[1] (in Latin), volume 1, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 347
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “حجفة”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[2], London: Williams & Norgate, page 520
• Leslau, Wolf (1991) Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 227