عَامٌ

A year synonym سَنَةٌ: (S, K;) or حَوْلٌ; [not سَنَةٌ; for] El. Jawáleekee says, the common people do not distinguish between the عام and the سنه, making them both to have the same meaning; but the right state of the case is what I have been told on the authority of Ahmad Ibn-Yahyà [i. e. Th], that the سنه is from any day from which one commences a reckoning to the like thereof, and the عام is only [a period of] a winter and a summer; and it is also said in the T and in the Bári that the عام is a حَوْل that makes an end of a winter and a summer, so that every عام is a سنة, but every سنة is not an عام; for when you reckon from a day to the like thereof, that is a سنة, and there may be in it half of the summer. and half of the winter, whereas the عام is only a winter and a summer, without interruption: (Msb, MF: *) Er-Rághib mentions a difference in the uses of the words عَامٌ and سَنَةٌ [as has been stated in article سنو and سنى: see سَنَةٌ in that article] and Suh says, in the R, that the سنة is longer than the عام; that the former is “ a single revolution of the sun; ” and that the latter is applied to the [twelve] Arabian months [collectively]: it is said to be called عام because of the sun's عَوْم [or coursing] through all of its zodiacal signs [during the period which it denotes]: (TA:) its plural is أَعْوامٌ, (S, Msb, K,) because the singular is originally of the measure فَعَلٌ [i. e. عَوَمٌ]: (Msb:) it has no other plural than this. (TA.)

One says, لقِيتُهُ عَامًا أَوَّلَ [I met him in a former year; generally meaning, the year immediately preceding, or, as we say, last year]; making the last word imperfectly decl. as being an epithet [and of the measure of a verb]: and لَقِتُهُ عَامًا أَوَّلًا [I met him in a year before: generally meaning the same as the phrase preceding]; making the last word perfectly decl. as not being an epithet [but an adv.n. and K in article وأل) or the meaning is, in a year] before this year; even if it be by a number of years: ('Alee El-Kári, on the authority of Seer, in a marginal note in my MS. copy of the K, article اول:) and one says also, according to AZ and IAar, لَقَيتُهُ عَامَ الأَوَّلِ; (TA in article وأل;) or the is rarely said; (K and TA in that article;) or should not be said; (ISk, S and TA in that article;) nor should one say, لَقَيتُهُ عَامَ أَوَّلَ (ISk TA in the present article) And [in like manner] one says, ما رَأَيْتُهُ مُذْ عَامٌ أَوَّلُ, putting the last word in the nom case as being an epithet, (S and K in article وأل,) as though he said أَوَّلُ مِنْ عَامِنَا [i. e. I have not seen him since a year preceding this one year]; (S in that article;) and مُذْ عَامٌ أَوَّلَ, putting the last word in the accusative case as an adv n., (S and K * in that article,) as though he said مُذْ عامٌ قَبْلَ عَامِنَا [since a year before this our year]; (S in that article;) and مُذْعَامًا أَوَّلَ and مُذْ عَامُ الأَوَّلِ are also mentioned by different authors (L in art, منذ) And [using the diminutive form] one says, لَقِتُهُ ذَاتَ العُوَيْمِ i. e. [I met him] in the course of some years; like as one says, لَقِيتُهُ ذَاتَ الزُّمَيْنِ, and ذَاتَ مَرَّةٍ: (S:) or the meaning is, (some few years ago; or] three years ago or more, to ten: (AZ, Az, TA:) and it is like the saying, لَقِيتُهُ مُنْذُ سُنَيَّاتٍ: the feminine form is used because they mean by it مَرَّة وَاحِدَة. (Az, TA.)

One says also نَاقَةٌ بَازِلُ عَامٍ and بَازِلُ عَامِهَا [A she-camel that has passed a year, and her year, after cutting her tush], (TA,) and بازِل عَامَيْنِ that has passed two years after cutting the tush. (MF and TA in article بزل.)