صفة

See also: صفه

Arabic

Etymology 1

Root
و ص ف (w ṣ f)
8 terms

Compare وَصَفَ (waṣafa, “to describe, to characterize”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sˤi.fa/

Noun

صِفَة • (ṣifa) f (plural صِفَات (ṣifāt))

1. verbal noun of وَصَفَ (waṣafa) (form I)
2. quality, feature, characteristic
3. (grammar) adjective (morphological category)

   Synonym: وَصْف (waṣf)

   Hyponyms: صِفَة مُشَبَّهَة (ṣifa(t) mušabbaha), اِسْم فَاعِل (ism fāʕil), اِسْم مَفْعُول (ism mafʕūl), اِسْم تَفْضِيل (ism tafḍīl)

4. (grammar) a word or phrase that modifies a noun

   Synonym: نَعْت (naʕt)

5. attribute

Declension

Declension of noun صِفَة (ṣifa)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صِفَة ṣifa	الصِّفَة aṣ-ṣifa	صِفَة ṣifat
Nominative	صِفَةٌ ṣifatun	الصِّفَةُ aṣ-ṣifatu	صِفَةُ ṣifatu
Accusative	صِفَةً ṣifatan	الصِّفَةَ aṣ-ṣifata	صِفَةَ ṣifata
Genitive	صِفَةٍ ṣifatin	الصِّفَةِ aṣ-ṣifati	صِفَةِ ṣifati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صِفَتَيْن ṣifatayn	الصِّفَتَيْن aṣ-ṣifatayn	صِفَتَيْ ṣifatay
Nominative	صِفَتَانِ ṣifatāni	الصِّفَتَانِ aṣ-ṣifatāni	صِفَتَا ṣifatā
Accusative	صِفَتَيْنِ ṣifatayni	الصِّفَتَيْنِ aṣ-ṣifatayni	صِفَتَيْ ṣifatay
Genitive	صِفَتَيْنِ ṣifatayni	الصِّفَتَيْنِ aṣ-ṣifatayni	صِفَتَيْ ṣifatay
Plural	sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صِفَات ṣifāt	الصِّفَات aṣ-ṣifāt	صِفَات ṣifāt
Nominative	صِفَاتٌ ṣifātun	الصِّفَاتُ aṣ-ṣifātu	صِفَاتُ ṣifātu
Accusative	صِفَاتٍ ṣifātin	الصِّفَاتِ aṣ-ṣifāti	صِفَاتِ ṣifāti
Genitive	صِفَاتٍ ṣifātin	الصِّفَاتِ aṣ-ṣifāti	صِفَاتِ ṣifāti

Descendants

• → Armenian: սֆաթ (sfatʻ), սփաթ (spʻatʻ)
• → Classical Persian: صِفَت (sifat)
  • Persian: صِفَت (sefat)
  • Tajik: сифат (sifat)
  • → Azerbaijani: sifət
  • → Chagatai:
    • Uyghur:

      Arabic script: سۈپەت (süpet)

      Cyrillic script: сүпәт (süpet)

    • Uzbek:

      Cyrillic script: сифат (sifat)

      Latin script: sifat

  • → Kazakh:

    Arabic script: سيپات

    Cyrillic script: сипат (sipat)

  • → Ottoman Turkish: صفت (sıfat)
    • Turkish: sıfat
  • → Turkmen: sypat
  • → Punjabi: ਸਿਫ਼ਤ (sifat)
  • → Urdu: صفت (sifat)
  • → Zazaki: sıfet
• → Georgian: სიფათი (sipati)
• → Malay: sifat
  • Indonesian: sifat
• → Swahili: sifa

Further reading

• Carter, Michael George (2017) “The Seven Deadly Sins of Arabic Studies”, in Manuel Sartori, Manuela E. B. Giolfo, Philippe Cassuto, editors, Approaches to the History and Dialectology of Arabic in Honor of Pierre Larcher (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics; 88), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 521–522, 527–531

Etymology 2

From Aramaic צִפָּא / צִיפָּא (ṣippā), צִפְּתָא / צִיפְּתָא (sippəṯā) / ܨܝܦܬܐ / ܨܶܦ݁ܬ݂ܳܐ (ṣeppəṯā, “mat”), suspected to be from Akkadian 𒍦𒉺𒀀𒌅 (ṣip-pa-a-tu /⁠ṣippatu⁠/, “a type of reed”), or instead סִפָּא / סִיפָּא (sippā) / ܣܷܦܴ݁ܐ (seppā, “threshold, doorpost”), alleged to be from Akkadian 𒈨𒁍 (sip-pu /⁠sippu⁠/, “doorsill”) but possibly cognate to it.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sˤuf.fa/

Noun

صُفَّة • (ṣuffa) f (plural صُفَف (ṣufaf) or صِفَاف (ṣifāf))

1. bench, stone bench
2. sofa, sill, shelf, console
3. vestibule, anteroom, entrance-room, portico, an elevated room over or before an edifice including a mosque and even over a sepulchre

   أَهْلُ الصُّفَّةِ ― ʔahlu ṣ-ṣuffati ― the companions of the prophet Mohammed

   • a. 1000, المقدسي, edited by Michael Jan de Goeje, أحسن التقاسيم في معرفة الأقاليم [ʾaḥsan at-taqāsīm fī maʿrifa al-ʾaqālīm] (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum; 3)‎^[1], Leiden: E. J. Brill, published 1877, 1906, page 322 line 9:
   • a. 1000, المقدسي, edited by Michael Jan de Goeje, أحسن التقاسيم في معرفة الأقاليم [ʾaḥsan at-taqāsīm fī maʿrifa al-ʾaqālīm] (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum; 3)‎^[2], Leiden: E. J. Brill, published 1877, 1906, page 169 line 9 seq.:
   • a. 1000, المقدسي, edited by Michael Jan de Goeje, أحسن التقاسيم في معرفة الأقاليم [ʾaḥsan at-taqāsīm fī maʿrifa al-ʾaqālīm] (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum; 3)‎^[3], Leiden: E. J. Brill, published 1877, 1906, page 84 line 6:
   • a. 1000, المقدسي, edited by Michael Jan de Goeje, أحسن التقاسيم في معرفة الأقاليم [ʾaḥsan at-taqāsīm fī maʿrifa al-ʾaqālīm] (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum; 3)‎^[4], Leiden: E. J. Brill, published 1877, 1906, page 94 line 6:
   • a. 1000, المقدسي, edited by Michael Jan de Goeje, أحسن التقاسيم في معرفة الأقاليم [ʾaḥsan at-taqāsīm fī maʿrifa al-ʾaqālīm] (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum; 3)‎^[5], Leiden: E. J. Brill, published 1877, 1906, page 449 line 12:
   • a. 1000, المقدسي, edited by Michael Jan de Goeje, أحسن التقاسيم في معرفة الأقاليم [ʾaḥsan at-taqāsīm fī maʿrifa al-ʾaqālīm] (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum; 3)‎^[6], Leiden: E. J. Brill, published 1877, 1906, page 130 line 8:
4. seat of a saddle
5. a small part, a little of
6. a short while, a trice

Declension

Declension of noun صُفَّة (ṣuffa)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صُفَّة ṣuffa	الصُّفَّة aṣ-ṣuffa	صُفَّة ṣuffat
Nominative	صُفَّةٌ ṣuffatun	الصُّفَّةُ aṣ-ṣuffatu	صُفَّةُ ṣuffatu
Accusative	صُفَّةً ṣuffatan	الصُّفَّةَ aṣ-ṣuffata	صُفَّةَ ṣuffata
Genitive	صُفَّةٍ ṣuffatin	الصُّفَّةِ aṣ-ṣuffati	صُفَّةِ ṣuffati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صُفَّتَيْن ṣuffatayn	الصُّفَّتَيْن aṣ-ṣuffatayn	صُفَّتَيْ ṣuffatay
Nominative	صُفَّتَانِ ṣuffatāni	الصُّفَّتَانِ aṣ-ṣuffatāni	صُفَّتَا ṣuffatā
Accusative	صُفَّتَيْنِ ṣuffatayni	الصُّفَّتَيْنِ aṣ-ṣuffatayni	صُفَّتَيْ ṣuffatay
Genitive	صُفَّتَيْنِ ṣuffatayni	الصُّفَّتَيْنِ aṣ-ṣuffatayni	صُفَّتَيْ ṣuffatay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صُفَف‎; صِفَاف ṣufaf‎; ṣifāf	الصُّفَف‎; الصِّفَاف aṣ-ṣufaf‎; aṣ-ṣifāf	صُفَف‎; صِفَاف ṣufaf‎; ṣifāf
Nominative	صُفَفٌ‎; صِفَافٌ ṣufafun‎; ṣifāfun	الصُّفَفُ‎; الصِّفَافُ aṣ-ṣufafu‎; aṣ-ṣifāfu	صُفَفُ‎; صِفَافُ ṣufafu‎; ṣifāfu
Accusative	صُفَفًا‎; صِفَافًا ṣufafan‎; ṣifāfan	الصُّفَفَ‎; الصِّفَافَ aṣ-ṣufafa‎; aṣ-ṣifāfa	صُفَفَ‎; صِفَافَ ṣufafa‎; ṣifāfa
Genitive	صُفَفٍ‎; صِفَافٍ ṣufafin‎; ṣifāfin	الصُّفَفِ‎; الصِّفَافِ aṣ-ṣufafi‎; aṣ-ṣifāfi	صُفَفِ‎; صِفَافِ ṣufafi‎; ṣifāfi

Descendants

• → Ottoman Turkish: صفه (suffa, sofa)
  • Turkish: sofa
  • → French: sofa (see there for further descendants)

References

• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, pages 287–288
• Freytag, Georg (1833) “صفة”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[7] (in Latin), volume 2, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 502a
• Michael Jan de Goeje, editor (1879), Indices, glossarium et addenda et emendanda ad part. I–III (Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum; 7)‎^[8] (in Latin), Leiden: E. J. Brill, published 1879, page 281
• Kaufman, Stephen A. (1974) The Akkadian Influences on Aramaic (The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago Assyriological Studies; 19)‎^[9], Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 92
• Kazimirski, Albin de Biberstein (1860) “صفة”, 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^[10] (in French), volume 1, Paris: Maisonneuve et C^ie, page 1343b
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “صفة”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[11], London: Williams & Norgate, pages 1693c–1694

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884) “صفة”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[12], London: W.H. Allen, page 583b