غَنَمٌ

i. q. شَاءٌ, (T, Msb, K,) meaning Sheep and goats; (Msb;) [and both together;] a gen. n., (S, Msb, K,) of the feminine gender, (S, K,) applied to the males and the females, and to both together: (S, Msb, K:) it has no singular from which it is derived, the singular being شاة: the dual غَنَمَانِ is used as meaning two flocks or herds [of sheep or of goats or of both together]; (Msb, K;) each flock or herd having its distinct place of pasture and its pastor: (Msb, TA: *) and hence it is said in a tradition that the poor-rate [meaning a portion thereof] is to be given to him to whom the year of drought has left a غَنَم, but not to him to whom it has left غَنَمَيْنِ: (TA:) the plural is أَغْنَامٌ, (Msb, K,) [properly a plural of pauc.,] sometimes used, (Msb,) meaning flocks or herds of غَنَم, (Msb and TA in article ابل,) and also غُنُومٌ and أَغَانِمُ, (K,) the last used in an ode of Aboo-Jundab El-Hudhalee: (TA:) the diminutive is ↓ غُنَيْمَةٌ, with ة, because quasi-plural ns. of the class having no singular from which they are derived, when applied to what are not human beings, are constantly feminine; so one says خَمْسٌ مِنَ الغَنَمِ ذُكُورٌ [five of sheep, males], making the n. of number feminine, though one means rams, when it is followed by مِنَ الغَنَمِ, for the n. of number is masculine and feminine according to the word, not according to the meaning. (S.)

In the saying لَا اتِيكَ غَنَمَ الفِزْرِ i. e. حَتَّى تَجْتَمِعَ غَنَمُ الفِزْرِ [I will not come to thee until the sheep, or goats, of El-Fizr congregate], غنم [with its complement] is made to stand in the place of الدَّهْر, [the meaning being, I will not come to thee ever,] and is [therefore] put in the accusative case as though it were an adv. n. [of time]. (TA. [This saying with مِعْزَى in the place of غَنَمَ is mentioned by El-Meydánee in his “ Proverbs, ” and thus in the S and K in article فزر. For an explanation of its origin see Freytag's Arab. Prov. ii. 484.])

الأَغْنَامُ is the name of (assumed tropical:) Certain small stars between the legs of Cepheus and the star الجَدْىُ. (Kzw, in his descr. of Cepheus.) [See شَاةٌ (in article شوه), last sentence.]