غَيْطَلَةٌ

Also A company, or collection, (Th, K, TA,) of men: (K, TA:) or the assembling of men, and their becoming in a dense, or confused, state. (IAar, TA.)

And Darkness; as also غَيْطُولٌ; (K;) or the latter signifies confusedness of darkness; (IDrd, O;) or signifies also dense (lit. accumulated) darkness. (K. [The Arabs describe thick darkness as “ darknesses one above another: ” see Qur'an, 24:40.]) And The intricate and confused blackness of night: (S, O, K:) or غَيْطَلَةُ اللَّيْلِ signifies the confusedness and denseness of the darkness [of night]: and the plural is غَيَاطِلُ. (TA.)

Also A confusion, or mixture, of cries or shouts or noises; (S, * O, * K;) and so غَيْطُولٌ: (IDrd, O, K:) غَيْطَلَاتٌ, plural of the former, signifies clamours of men: and the singular, the numerous cries or shouts or noises, and the dust, of war, or battle. (TA.)

And The overpowering influence of drowsiness: (O, K:) [or so غَيْطَلَةُ نُعَاسٍ: plural غَيَاطِلُ:] one says, رَيَّثَتْهُ غَيَاطِلُ النُّعَاسِ meaning غَوَالِبُهُ [i. e. The overpowering influences of drowsiness retarded him, or made him late]. (A, TA.)

And The means of happiness of the present world or state of existence: (K:) or غَيَاطِلُ الدُّنْيَا means those means of happiness: (O:) or this latter phrase means the consecutive means of happiness of the present world. (TA.) And The eating and drinking and rejoicing, with security. (Fr, O, K.)

And الغَيْطَلَةُ (according to Fr, as is said in the O and TA,) signifies المَالُ المُطْغِى [as though most probably meaning Property that causes extravagance]: (O, K, TA:) [but from what SM remarks respecting it, I can only infer that he holds المُطْغِى to be an epithet applied to the cow as signifying “ having a youngling, ” which is termed طَغْيَا or طُغْيَا, (like المُعْجِلُ signifying “ having a calf, ” which is termed عِجْلٌ, and several other epithets of the same form,) and in like manner applied to a collective number of cows, though I do not find it mentioned in this sense; i. e., that he understands; and would explain, المَالُ المُطْغِى as signifying The cattle, meaning cows, having younglings: but his derivation of it seems to be far-fetched; and perhaps he may have been led to assign this meaning to it by another explanation of غَيْطَلَةٌ with which it is agreeable, and which will be found in the next sentence:] it is not [he says] from طَغَا, aorist يَطْغُو, signifying أَسْرَفَ فِى الظُّلْمِ, as it seems to be at first sight; but from طَغَتْ said of the بَقَرَة وَحْشِيَّة, signifying صَاحَتْ, the like of which is also said of the ثَوْر. (TA.)

غَيْطَلَةٌ signifies also Such as has milk, of gazelles, or antelopes, and of beasts of the bovine kind [perhaps meaning of the wild species, i. e. bovine antelopes]; (S, O, K;) plural غَيَاطِلُ: (S, O:) according to AO, the بَقَرَة وَحْشِيَّة [or bovine antelope]: (S, O:) Th says that it signifies the بَقَرَة [or beast of the bovine kind, bull or cow], not particularizing the wild species. (TA.) [See also غَيْطَلٌ, last explanation but one.]