مِجْدَحٌ

The instrument with which سَوِيق is stirred about with water &c.; (S, A, K, &c.;) which is a piece of wood the end whereof has several sides; (S, L;) or a piece of wood at the head of which are two cross pieces of wood; (A, Mgh, L;) and sometimes having three prongs: (IAth, TA:) plural مَجَادِحُ. (L.)

It is sometimes used tropically, as relating to evil, or mischief. (L.) [Thus it means (tropical:) A stirrer-up of evil or mischief; or a thing that stirs up, or whereby one stirs up, evil or mischief.]

Also (assumed tropical:) Any one of the مَجَادِيحُ السَّمَاءِ [or stirrers-up of the sky, or of rain]; (L;) these being the أَنْوَاءٌ [or stars, or asterisms, which, by their auroral settings or risings, were believed by the Pagan Arabs to bring rain &c.]; (S, L, K;) of those انواء that seldom or never failed [to bring rain], according to the Arabs: (Mgh:) the ى in the plural is added to give fulness to the sound of the kesreh; for the regular plural is مَجَادِحُ, and the singular of مجاديح should by rule be مِجْدَاحٌ. (A, IAth, Mgh.) One says, ارْسَلَتِ السَّمَاءَ مَجَادِيحُهَا (L) or مَجَادِيحُ الغَيْثِ (A) (assumed tropical:) [Its stirrers-up, or the stirrers-up of rain, or the stars or asterisms which were the bringers of it, sent forth rain]. It is related of 'Omar, that he ascended the pulpit to pray for rain, and, having only offered a prayer for forgiveness, descended; whereupon it was said to him, “ Thou hast not prayed for rain; ” and he replied, لَقَدِ اسْتَسْقَيْتُ بِمَجَادِيحِ السَّمَاءِ (assumed tropical:) [I have indeed prayed for rain by words which are the stirrers-up of rain]; making the prayer for forgiveness to be a prayer for rain, in allusion to a passage in the Qur'an, 71:9 and 10; and meaning thereby to deny the efficacy of the انواء. (A, * Mgh, * L.) المِجْدَحُ, also pronounced ↓ المُجْدَحُ, (S, K,) thus pronounced by El-Umawee, (S,) is moreover the name of (assumed tropical:) A particular star or asterism, one of those which the Pagan Arabs asserted to be bringers of rain: (L:) said to be الدَّبَرَانُ [the Hyades; or the five chief stars thereof; or the brightest star thereof, a of Taurus]; (S, A, L, K;) [which is called by this name of الدبران] because it rises latterly [with respect to the Pleiades], (S,) or because it follows (يَدْبُرُ, i. e. يَتْبَعُ,) the Pleiades: (T in article دبر:) [whence] it is also called حَادِى النُّجُومِ [“ the urger of the stars, ” properly, “ with singing ”], (S,) or حَادِى النَّجْمِ [“ the urger of the asterism, ” meaning, “ of the Pleiades ”], and تَالِى النَّجْمِ [“ the follower of the asterism, ” or, “ of the Pleiades ”], (Kzw,) and التَّالِى and التَّابِعُ [“ the follower ”]: (Sh:) or it is a small star or asterism, between الدبران and الثُّرَيَّا [or the Pleiades]: (IAar, K:) [perhaps meaning the four stars that are the chief stars of the Hyades exclusively of a Tauri:] or three stars, (Mgh, TA,) like the three stones upon which a cooking-pot rests, (TA,) likened to a three-pronged مِجْدَح; (Mgh, TA;) on the [auroral] rising of which, heat is expected: (TA:) the Arabs regarded it as one of the انواء which [by their auroral setting] foretokened rain. (IAth.) المِجْدَحَانِ is a name by which some of the Arabs called (assumed tropical:) The two wings of الجَوْزَاء [or Orion]. (Sh, TA.)

مِجْدَحٌ also signifies (assumed tropical:) A certain mark made with a hot iron upon the thighs of camels. (K.)