شَاةٌ

, (S, Msb, K, &c.,) originally شَاهَةٌ, (S, Msb, TA,) A sheep, or goat; [each and either, but more commonly the former; see an instance voce صُوفٌ;] i. e. one of what are termed غَنَم; (S, * Msb, * K;) applied to the male and to the female; (S, Msb, K;) so that one says of the male, هٰذَا شَاةٌ, (Msb,) which is said by Kh to be like the phrase هٰذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّى; (Sb, TA;) and of the female, هٰذِهِ شَاةٌ; and شَاةٌ ذَكَرٌ and شَاةٌ أُنْثَى: (Msb:) or it may be [one] of sheep, and of goats, and of gazelles or antelopes, and of the bovine kind [apparently of the wild bovine kind i. e. of bovine antelopes], and of ostriches, and of wild asses; (K;) it is applied to a wild bull by Tarafeh, in his saying,

كَسَامِعَتَىْ شَاةٍ بِحَوْمَلَ مُفْرَدِ

(S) i. e. Like the two ears of a wild bull, in Howmal, solitary; the poet likening thereto the ears of a she-camel in respect of sharpness and erectness; (EM p. 76;) and likewise by Lebeed, and by El-Farezdak: (IB, TA:) and it is also applied to [a wild cow; (though said in the K in article شوى to signify the wild bull, specially the male;) and hence, as being likened thereto,] (tropical:) a woman; (K, TA;) thus by El-Aashà; and thus also by Antarah, in his saying,

يَا شَاةَ مَا قَنَصٍ لِمَنْ حَلَّتْ لَهُ

حَرُمَتْ عَلَىَّ وَلَيْتَهَا لَمْ تَحْرُمِ

(TA) O شاة [i. e. wild cow] of the chase (ما being redundant) for him to whom she is lawful: she has become forbidden to me, and would that she were not forbidden: (EM p. 246:) plural ↓ شَاءٌ, (S, Msb, K,) originally شَاهٌ, (K,) used when they are many in number, (S,) [but this is properly termed a coll. gen. n.,] and شِيَاهٌ, (S, Mgh, Msb, K,) with ه, which is used of a number from three to ten [inclusive], for more than which it is with ت [meaning ة, i. e. شَاةٌ, agreeably with a general rule], (S,) and شِوَاهٌ, [the original of شِيَاهٌ,] (K,) and ↓ شَوِىٌّ, (S, K, TA, [in the CK, erroneously, شَوًى,]) which is plural of شَاءٌ, (S, TA,) or rather a quasi-plural n., originally شَوِيهٌ, the ه being changed into ى like as it is in ذِى for ذِهْ, (TA,) and أَشَاوِهُ, (K,) and ↓ شَيْهٌ, (so in copies of the K, [in the TA said to be like عِنَبٌ, which is a mistake, (perhaps for عَيْنٌ,) for it is there said to be a quasi-plural n., which could not be said if it were شِيَهٌ,]) and ↓ شِيهٌ, (CK, [but this, which is another quasi-plural n., is not in my MS. copy of the K nor in the TA,]) and ↓ شَيِّهٌ, (K,) originally شَيْوِهٌ, but this, also, is a quasi-plural n., (TA,) and ↓ شِيَةٌ also is synonym with شَاءٌ: (IAar, K in article شوى:) it has not a plural formed with ا and ت, [i. e. it has not for a plural شَااتٌ,] whether it be used as a gen. n. or as a proper name: (TA:) the diminutive is ↓ شُوَيْهَةٌ. (S, Msb.) The singular is also used in the sense of the plural, in the saying فُلَانٌ كَثِيرُ الشَّاةِ وَالبَعِيرِ [Such a one is possessor of a large number of sheep or goats, and of camels], because the article ال denotes the genus. (S.) And it is said in a tradition فَأَمَرَ لَهَا بِشِيَاهِ غَنَمٍ [And he ordered that sheep or goats should be given to her]: شياه being prefixed to غنم, governing it in the gen. case, for the sake of distinction; because the Arabs [sometimes] call an animal of the wild bovine kind شاة. (IAth, TA.)

الشَّاةُ is also the name of (assumed tropical:) Certain small stars (K in article شوى) between القرحه [or الفرجة, thus in the work of Kzw, in his descr. of Cepheus, and there said to be the star in the breast of Cepheus,] and الجَدْىُ [i. e. the pole-star]; (TA in that article;) [the same that are described by Kzw as certain small stars, called by the Arabs الأَغْنَامُ, between the legs of Cepheus and the star الجَدْىُ.]