and jam‘ (gathering) and su’dud (leadership) are similar in meaning: they all convey gathering together and strength. Food is described as ‘afs (astringent), possessing ‘ufūsah (astringency), meaning that it causes contraction. From this comes ‘afs, the gallnuts used to make ink.

Al-Jawharī said:

“It is a later coinage, not part of the speech of the desert Arabs.”

This does not detract from it, for they had no gallnuts to call by this name. Nevertheless, the designation accords with the principles of Arabic speech. The same applies to their calling what is inserted into a bottle’s mouth a simām (stopper), for this root conveys gathering together and sealing.

Al-Jawharī said: A bottle’s simām is its stopper. An asamm stone is hard and solid. An asamm man is one who cannot hear because his hearing is obstructed. A man described as simmah is brave; simmah also means a male snake. The samīm of something is its pure essence, into which nothing has entered to break it apart or weaken it. Thus one says samīm al-harr (the height of the heat), samīm al-bard (the depth of the cold), and “So-and-so is of the pure stock of his people.” A samsām is a sharp, cutting sword that does not bend. The expression sammama, used of travelling or other pursuits, means “he pressed on.” A man described as summ is stout.

Sawm (abstention) is related to this through broader etymological affinity, for sawm means refraining.

Abū ‘Ubaydah said:

“Anyone who refrains from food, speech, or travelling is sā’im.”

This is because refraining involves holding together, and nothing enters the interior of one who is fasting. One says sāma al-faras when a horse stands without feeding.

Al-Nābighah said:

“Some horses stand, others move beneath the dust,
And others champ their bits.”