قفير

See also: فقير and قفيز

Arabic

Etymology

Probably from Old South Arabian, compare Ge'ez ከፈር (käfär, “basket, canister; peck, modius”), Tigrinya ከፈር (käfär, “big basket”), Amharic ቀፎ (ḳäfo, “beehive”), Sabaean 𐩫𐩰𐩧 (kfr, “sluice; covered cistern”). Compare Hebrew כְּפוֹר (kəp̄ōr, “jar, bowl”), Classical Syriac ܟܳܦܱܪܬ݂ܳܐ (kāp̄artā, “a type of palm basket”), Classical Syriac ܟܪܴܦܬܴ݁ܐ (krāp̄tā, “household appliances”), Akkadian 𒅗𒀊𒀸 (ka-ap-rum /⁠kapru⁠/, “a type of sacrifice; the cup, platter, or table for it”), 𒅗𒅈𒁍 (ka-ar-pu /⁠karpu⁠/, “pot, jar, earthen vessel, especially of a fragile kind”), 𒂁 (DUG /⁠karpatu⁠/, “jar, vessel of a fragile kind”). It may be related to the meanings of covering discussed at كفر (k-f-r), less likely it is extended from a term equaling Akkadian 𒆏𒁍 (/⁠kappu⁠/, “from Proto-Semitic *kapp- (“hand”), cupped hands; a bowl, a small serving container”) or قُفَّة (quffa, “large wicker-baskeŧ”); see else قَفِيز (qafīz) for a picture of the frequency of container names with guttural onset leading over an open vowel to a labial plosive or fricative.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qa.fiːr/

Noun

قَفِير • (qafīr) m (plural قُفْرَان (qufrān))

1. frail, basket
2. beehive

   Synonyms: خَلِيَّة (ḵaliyya), جَبْح (jabḥ), كُوَارَة (kuwāra), عَسَّالَة (ʕassāla), مَنْحَل (manḥal)

Declension

Declension of noun قَفِير (qafīr)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَفِير qafīr	الْقَفِير al-qafīr	قَفِير qafīr
Nominative	قَفِيرٌ qafīrun	الْقَفِيرُ al-qafīru	قَفِيرُ qafīru
Accusative	قَفِيرًا qafīran	الْقَفِيرَ al-qafīra	قَفِيرَ qafīra
Genitive	قَفِيرٍ qafīrin	الْقَفِيرِ al-qafīri	قَفِيرِ qafīri
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَفِيرَيْن qafīrayn	الْقَفِيرَيْن al-qafīrayn	قَفِيرَيْ qafīray
Nominative	قَفِيرَانِ qafīrāni	الْقَفِيرَانِ al-qafīrāni	قَفِيرَا qafīrā
Accusative	قَفِيرَيْنِ qafīrayni	الْقَفِيرَيْنِ al-qafīrayni	قَفِيرَيْ qafīray
Genitive	قَفِيرَيْنِ qafīrayni	الْقَفِيرَيْنِ al-qafīrayni	قَفِيرَيْ qafīray
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قُفْرَان qufrān	الْقُفْرَان al-qufrān	قُفْرَان qufrān
Nominative	قُفْرَانٌ qufrānun	الْقُفْرَانُ al-qufrānu	قُفْرَانُ qufrānu
Accusative	قُفْرَانًا qufrānan	الْقُفْرَانَ al-qufrāna	قُفْرَانَ qufrāna
Genitive	قُفْرَانٍ qufrānin	الْقُفْرَانِ al-qufrāni	قُفْرَانِ qufrāni

References

• Dillmann, August (1865) “ከፈር”, in Lexicon linguae aethiopicae cum indice latino (in Latin), Leipzig: T. O. Weigel, column 879
• Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1881) “قفير”, in Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes‎^[1] (in French), volume 2, Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 383
• Freytag, Georg (1835) “قفير”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[2] (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 479
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884) “قفير”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[3], London: W.H. Allen, page 850
• Wehr, Hans with Kropfitsch, Lorenz (1985) “قفير”, in Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart‎^[4] (in German), 5th edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, published 2011, →ISBN, page 1046
• Zimmern, Heinrich (1915) Akkadische Fremdwörter als Beweis für babylonischen Kultureinfluss (in German), Leipzig: A. Edelmann, page 34
• “kprh²”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• “krph”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–