دَلِيلٌ

i. q. ↓ دَالٌّ; (S, Msb, TA;) i.e.[A director; or] a right director (Msb, Kull, TA) to that which is sought or desired; a guide; (Kull;) one who directs, or rightly directs, another; (M;) [an indicator;] and a discoverer: (Msb:) and a thing by which one is directed, or guided, (مَا يُسْتَدَلُّ بِهِ S, TA,) or by which one is rightly directed; (TA;) [an indication; an evidence; a proof; and an argument;] a sign set up for the knowledge of a thing indicated; (whence smoke is called دَلِيلٌ عَلَى النَّارِ [an indication of fire];) anything whereby a thing indicated is known, whether relating to an object of sense or to the law [&c.], decisive or indecisive: and ↓ دَلَالَةٌ is used in the sense of دَلِيلٌ, because a thing is called by the verbal noun of its verb: (Kull:) and so is ↓ دِلِّيلَى, (S, MF, TA,) though this is asserted in the K to have been said heedlessly by J because this last word is a verbal noun; for the verbal noun is used in the sense of the act. particle n., almost by a general rule, as it is also in the sense of the pass. particle n.: (MF, TA:) the plural of دَلِيلٌ is أَدِلَّاءُ [generally restricted to rational beings, or always so restricted,] and أَدِلَّةٌ [generally restricted to things by which one is directed &c., but properly a plural of pauc.,] (M, TA) and, according to some, دَلَايءِلُ, (Kull,) or this is plural of ↓ دَلِيلَةٌ [feminine of دَلِيلٌ, or of ↓ دَلَالَةٌ, as is also دَلَالَاتٌ. (TA.) يَا دَلِيلَ المُتَحَيِّرِينَ means O guide of those who are perplexed to that by means of which their perplexity will depart. (Kull.) The saying of a poet,

شَدُّوا المَطَى عَلَى دَلِيلٍ دَايءِبِ

means, as some say, بِدَلِيلٍ [i.e. They bound the saddles upon the camels for riding, with, or by means of, a toiling guide]: or, according to IJ, it may be elliptical, for عَلَىدِلَالَةِ دَلِيلٍ, and is like the phrase سِرْ عَلَى اسْمِ اللّٰهِ; as though he said, مُعْتَمِدِينَ عَلَى دَلِيلٍ دَايءِبِ [relying upon a toiling guide]. (M.)