مِعْلَفٌ

, (S, Mgh, O,) with kesr (S, Mgh) to the م; (Mgh;) or ↓ مَعْلَفٌ, like مَقْعَدٌ; (K;) [A manger; thus called in the present day; i. e.] a place of عَلَف [i. e. fodder, or provender for beasts]: (S, Mgh, O, K:) [plural مَعَالِفُ.]

[Hence,] المِعْلَفُ, (Ibn-'Abbád, O,) or المَعْلَفُ, (K,) is the name of Certain stars, disposed in a round form, [but] separate; (Ibn-'Abbád, O, K;) also called الخِبَاءُ: (Ibn-'Abbád, O:) [the latter appellation is apparently wrongly identified in the TA in article خبى with الأَخْبِيةُ: what is here meant seems to be the group of stars called by our astronomers Præsepe; agreeably with the former appellation, and with the following statement:] in the مجسطى, [i. e. المِجِسْطِى, (thus the Arabs term the great work of Ptolemy, which we, imitating them, commonly call “ Almagest, ”)] النَّثْرَة (in Cancer) is mentioned by the name of المعلف: (Kzw, descr. of Cancer:) [but it is also said that] the Arabs thus call the seven stars that compose the constellation البَاطِيَة [i. e. Crater]. (Kzw, descr. of Crater.)

[Accord. to Golius, مِعْلَفٌ signifies also A bag for fodder, which, with fodder, is hung on the neck of a beast.]