Bibliotheca Polyglotta

♦ Semantic value spectrum in ClassAr (acc. to BAH2008): ‘the sides of a valley or a mountain; to add s.th. to s.th. else; (of the sun) to be near the time of setting; to host, to seek s.o.’s hospitality; to fear, to be cautious’

»From the basic meaning ‘to incline towards, to set (of the sun), swerve, glance off (of an arrow)’, the verbal root comes to mean ‘to turn aside (from one’s road)’ and ‘to halt, on a visit to someone’, whence for the noun the sense of ‘guest’ […]« – J. Lecerf, art. “Ḍayf”, in EI².

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Although at first sight the two values do not seem to have much in common, they are probably related. Both are treated under the main lemma ↗ḍayf ‘guest’, assuming that v2 is secondary, a semantic extension of v1: *‘the one who is taken in as a guest’ > ‘to take in (in general), add’. But it could be the other way round as well: *‘to take in, add’ > ‘person who comes as addition, is taken in (as a guest)’. In ClassAr, also the values ‘to incline, approach, draw near’ and ‘to fear’ occur. Of these, ‘to incline, turn away’ could be the original value (cf. ḍīf ‘side’), while ‘to fear’ could be explained as a limitation in meaning: *‘to turn away (from fear)’ > ‘to fear’. Should this be correct, a ḍayf ‘guest’ may originally have been either *‘s.o. who has turned away (in fear?) (and is now seeking refuge)’ or ‘s.o. who has turned away (from his path) (and is now approaching, drawing near)’. Cf. Lecerf’s suggestion in EI² quoted in the “Nutshell” section.

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ḍayf ضَيْف , pl. ḍuyūf , ʔaḍyāf , ḍīfān

√ḌYF

guest; visitor – WehrCowan1979.

▪ »From the basic meaning ‘to incline towards, to set (of the sun), swerve, glance off (of an arrow)’, the verbal root comes to mean ‘to turn aside (from one’s road)’ and ‘to halt, on a visit to someone’, whence for the noun the sense of ‘guest’ […]« – J. Lecerf, art. “Ḍayf”, in EI².
▪ Orel&Stolbova1994#584 derive the word from a reconstructed Sem *ṣ̂ayp‑ ‘guest’ < ? AfrAs *ć̣ay˅p‑ ‘stranger, guest’.
▪ For the concept of ḍiyāfaẗ see s.v..

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Militarev/Stolbova 2007: Qat ḍyf ‘to ask to make a trading journey’, Mhr źayf / źīfon ‘guest, wedding guest’, Jib eźéf ‘to give hospitality’, Ḥrs źayf ‘guest’, Soq ḍef ‘recevoir qq’un comme hôte’. The forms in the modSAr languages may be an Arabisms. – Outside Sem: ŝapa, nzàfè ‘friend’ in 2 WCh languages; me-zep, mos, me-dap ‘stranger’ in 3 WCh idioms; mì-zèp, mɨ̀-zèp, mɨ̀-zìp, miz̃iva ‘guest’ in 4 WCh idioms; m̀-zèp, mǝ̀-zǝ̀p ‘stranger; guest’ in 2 WCh idioms; mɨ̀-s̃ɨbì, mí-híbí, mɨ̀-s̃ɨpì, mi-šibi, mɨ̀-s̃ɨpì in 4 CCh languages; and ĉap‑ ‘to pay bridewealth’ 1 SCush language.

Orel&Stolbova1994 and TB2007: From Sem *ṣ̂ayp‑ ‘guest’. Because of the WCh (*ĉ̣ay(˅)p‑ or *ĉ̣ay(˅)f‑ ‘friend; stranger; guest’), CCh (*mi-ŝip‑ or *mi-ŝipi ‘guest’) and SCush (*ĉap‑ ‘pay bridewealth’) cognates, a common AfrAs origin can be assumed, the most probable reconstruction for which is *ć̣ay˅p‑ ‘stranger, guest’. The authors assume also a denominative vb. Sem *ṣ̂˅y˅p as ancestor of Ar ḍāfa i ‘to be a guest’ and Jib eḍef ‘to give hospitality’.

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► ḍāfa, i (ḍiyāfaẗ), vb. I, to stop or stay as a guest: denominative (?).
► ḍayyafa, vb. II, to take in as a guest, receive hospitably, entertain: caus., denom.
► ^BP#291ʔaḍāfa, vb. IV, = II: caus., denom.; to add, subjoin, annex, attach; to admix; to connect, bring in relation (ʔilà with); to ascribe, attribute, assign (ʔilà to s.o.): metaph. use (?).
► ĭnḍāfa, vb. VII, to be added, be annexed, be subjoined, be attached (ʔilà to): pass. of I, metaph. use (?).
► ^BP#3942ĭstaḍāfa, vb. X, to invite s.o. to be one’s guest: denom.

► ḍiyāfaẗ, n.f., hospitable reception, entertainment as guest, accomodation; hospitality:.
► miḍyāf, adj., hospitable; n., hospitable host :.
► maḍāfaẗ, n.f., hostel, guesthouse, inn: n.loc.
► maḍyafaẗ, n.f., guest room; guesthouse: n.loc.
► ^BP#382ʔiḍāfaẗ, n.f., addition, apposition; subjunction, annexation, appending, attachment, augmentation, supplementation; assignment, allocation; ascription, attribution (ʔilà to): vn. IV, metaph. use; genitive construction (gram.): specialised meaning | ʔ. ʔilà ʔaǧal limitation (of a legal transaction; Isl. Law):.
► ^BP#2419ʔiḍāfī, adj., additional, supplementary, auxiliary, contributory, extra; secondary, subsidiary, tributary, accessory, incidental, side-, by (in compounds); relative (philos.): nsb-adj from ʔiḍāfaẗ.
► ʔiḍāfiyyaẗ, n.f., relativity (philos.): n.abstr. in ‑iyyaẗ from ʔiḍāfaẗ.
► ^BP#1956muḍīf, n., host: lexicalized PA IV.
► muḍīfaẗ, n.f., hostess; air hostess, stewardess: lexicalized PA IV, f.
► muḍāf, adj., added, subjoined, adjoined, apposed: PP IV; construct state (gram.): nominalized PP IV.

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