قسورة

Arabic

Etymology

The four possible definitions given were all recorded by Al-Tabari, but most have no supported etymology. In the "lion" sense, the word is claimed to be a borrowing from an Ethiopian language, though it is possible that it is of South Arabian origin and that the extreme southern end of Arabia was conflated with Abyssinia; compare Hobyót ḳaṣ̂áwrət, the plural of ḳáyṣ̂ər (“leopard”).

Noun

قَسْوَرَة • (qaswara) f

1. (Qur'anic hapax) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include: lion, hunters, archers, group of men

   See also: Thesaurus:أسد

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 74:50-51:

     كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنْفِرَةٌ / فَرَّتْ مِنْ قَسْوَرَةٍ

     kaʔannahum ḥumurun mmustanfiratun / farrat min qaswaratin

     As if they were frightened donkeys / Fleeing from a lion

Usage notes

• Modern translations and interpretations almost universally translate this word as “lion”.