زلف

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See also: زلق

Arabic

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Etymology 1

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From the root ز ل ف (z-l-f), a variant of the better-known س ل ف (s-l-f).

Verb

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زَلَفَ (zalafa) I (non-past يَزْلُفُ (yazlufu), verbal noun زَلْف (zalf) or زَلَف (zalaf) or زَلِيف (zalīf)) (archaic)

  1. to get close, to near, to advance
    • 7th century CE, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Buḵāriyy, 2:34:
      إِذَا أَسْلَمَ الْعَبْدُ فَحَسُنَ إِسْلَامُهُ يُكَفِّرُ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ كُلَّ سَيِّئَةٍ كَانَ زَلَفَهَا
      ʔiḏā ʔaslama l-ʕabdu faḥasuna ʔislāmuhu yukaffiru llāhu ʕanhu kulla sayyiʔatin kāna zalafahā
      I someone becomes muslim sincerely then Allah remits all [sins] that he has come near.
Conjugation
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Verb

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زَلَّفَ (zallafa) II (non-past يُزَلِّفُ (yuzallifu), verbal noun تَزْلِيف (tazlīf)) (archaic)

  1. to do it before, to execute earlier
  2. to exaggerate, to fudge
Conjugation
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Noun

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زَلْف (zalfm (archaic)

  1. verbal noun of زَلَفَ (zalafa) (form I)
Declension
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Noun

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زَلَف (zalafm (archaic)

  1. verbal noun of زَلَفَ (zalafa) (form I)
  2. grovelling, flattery by coming close in a respect
Declension
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Noun

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زُلَف (zulafpl (archaic)

  1. plural of زُلْفَة (zulfa)

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Classical Syriac ܙܠܦܐ (zalpā, zelpā), singulative ܙܠܦܬܐ (zlap̄ṯă, zelpǝṯā, shard; mother of pearl).

Noun

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زَلَف or زِلْف (zalaf or zilfm (collective, singulative زَلَفة f (zalafa) or زِلْفَة (zilfa)) (obsolete)

  1. mother-of-pearl-shell
    • 7th century CE, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 54:134:
      ثُمَّ يُرْسِلُ اللّٰهُ مَطَرًا لَا يَكُنُّ مِنْهُ بَيْتُ مَدَرٍ وَلَا وَبَرٍ فَيَغْسِلُ الأَرْضَ حَتَّى يَتْرُكَهَا كَالزَّلَفَةِ
      ṯumma yursilu llāhu maṭaran lā yakunnu minhu baytu madarin walā wabarin fayaḡsilu l-ʔarḍa ḥattā yatrukahā ka-z-zalafati
      Then God will send rain and there will be no brickhouse and no tent and he washes the earth, so that he leaves it blank like a nacre-shell.
Declension
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References

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  • Ullmann, Manfred (1992) Das Motiv des Spiegels in der arabischen Literatur des Mittelalters (Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen: Philologisch-historische Klasse; 198) (in German), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pages 22–24, he notes and definitely proves with poet citations that the other meanings given in the dictionaries are imaginary.
  • zlph”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–

Ottoman Turkish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Persian زلف (zolf, curl, tress).

Noun

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زلف (zülf)

  1. lovelock, a lock of hair that hangs down and is worn apart from the hair that remains

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Further reading

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Persian

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Etymology

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Belonging to زلفی (zolfi, door-ring by which the chain is fastened), زلفین (zolfin, door-ring; curl, tress), زرفین (zorfin, door-ring), which last has also been borrowed in Arabic زُرْفِين (zurfīn, ring; bolt or ring of a door; column capital particularly with volutes), زُرُّوف (zurrūf, curl in the hair), denominal زَرْفَنَ (zarfana, to crook, to make curly; to mark with a figure of a ring or curl). Their original is recorded as زفرین (zofrin), which relates to Avestan 𐬰𐬠𐬀𐬭 (zbar, to walk crooked), 𐬰𐬠𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬚𐬀 (zbaraθa, foot), 𐬰𐬠𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬵 (zbarah, hill), Sanskrit ह्वृ (hvṛ, to be crooked or bent).

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? zulf
Dari reading? zulf
Iranian reading? zolf
Tajik reading? zulf

Noun

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Dari زلف
Iranian Persian
Tajik зулф

زلف (zolf)

  1. curl, tress
    تیره زلفtire zolfdark hair
    • c. 800 CE, Firooz :
      سرو سیمین ترا در مشک تر
      زلف فرخالت ز سر تا پا گرفت

Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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