ع ص ف

Arabic

Etymology

Metathesis of عَفَصَ (ʕafaṣa). The forms and ideas of عُصَافَة (ʕuṣāfa, “chaff”) or refuse of corn in a society that attained agriculture only late are derivative to that of an oakgall عَفْص (ʕafṣ). Note also عِنْفَص (ʕinfaṣ, “bung-hole of a waterclock”). Distantly related to the root ع ص ر (ʕ-ṣ-r).

Root

ع ص ف • (ʕ-ṣ-f)

1. related to wind and blowing
2. related to corn

Derived terms

• Form I: عَصَفَ (ʕaṣafa)
  • Verbal noun: عَصْف (ʕaṣf), عُصُوف (ʕuṣūf)
  • Active participle: عَاصِف (ʕāṣif)
  • Passive participle: مَعْصُوف (maʕṣūf)
• Form IV: أَعْصَفَ (ʔaʕṣafa)
  • Verbal noun: إِعْصَاف (ʔiʕṣāf)
  • Active participle: مُعْصِف (muʕṣif)
  • Passive participle: مُعْصَف (muʕṣaf)
• Form VIII: اِعْتَصَفَ (iʕtaṣafa)
  • Verbal noun: اِعْتِصَاف (iʕtiṣāf)
  • Active participle: مُعْتَصِف (muʕtaṣif)
  • Passive participle: مُعْتَصَف (muʕtaṣaf)

• عَصِيفَة (ʕaṣīfa, “green leaves around an ear of corn”)
• عَصُوف (ʕaṣūf, “violent and cold”)
• عُصَافَة (ʕuṣāfa, “chaff”)

References

• Corriente, Federico, Pereira, Christophe, Vicente, Angeles, editors (2017), Dictionnaire du faisceau dialectal arabe andalou. Perspectives phraséologiques et étymologiques (in French), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 869
• Freytag, Georg (1835) “ع ص ف”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[1] (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 167
• Kazimirski, Albin de Biberstein (1860) “ع ص ف”, in Dictionnaire arabe-français contenant toutes les racines de la langue arabe, leurs dérivés, tant dans l’idiome vulgaire que dans l’idiome littéral, ainsi que les dialectes d’Alger et de Maroc‎^[2] (in French), volume 2, Paris: Maisonneuve et C^ie, page 272