سَفِلٌ

from سَفِلَ, and ↓ سَفِيلٌ from سَفُلَ, (assumed tropical:) A low, base, vile, ignoble, mean, or sordid, man: (MA:) or ↓ سَفيلٌ signifies low (↓ سَافِلٌ) [in condition], deficient in lot, or fortune: (TA:) and ↓ سَفِلَةٌ, (S, M, MA, Mgh, Msb, K,) said by some to be from this word as signifying the “ legs ” (Mgh, Msb) of a camel (Mgh) or of a beast, or quadruped, (Msb,) and ↓ سِفْلَةٌ, (S, M, MA, Mgh Msb, K,) a contraction of سَفِلَةٌ, (S, Mgh, Msb, or it may be plural of ↓ سَفِيلٌ, like as عِلْيَةٌ is of عَلِىٌّ, (Mgh,) (assumed tropical:) low, base, vile, ignoble, mean, or sordid, persons; (S, * MA, Mgh, Msb;) or the lowest, or lower, basest, or baser, vilest, or viler, &c., of mankind, or of people; the refuse, or rabble, thereof: (S, * M, K:) and ↓ سِفِلَةٌ, with two kesrehs, is a dialect var. of سَفِلَةٌ and سِفْلَةٌ, mentioned by Sgh and IB on the authority of Yoo and IKh, and is said to mean the lowest, basest, &c., of the low, base, &c.: the plural of ↓ سِفْلَةٌ is سِفَلٌ; (TA;) one should not say, ↓ هُوَ سَفِلَةٌ because this is [used only as] a plural: (S:) the vulgar say رَجُلٌ مِنْ قَوْمٍ سِفَلٍ ↓ سِفْلَةٌ; (S, Mgh; *) but this has been disallowed: (Mgh:) a man is related to have said to his wife, (Mgh, TA,) who had called him سِفْلَةٌ, (TA,) إِنْ كُنْتُ سِفْلَةً فَأَنْتِ طَالِقٌ, (Mgh, TA,) meaning If I be low, base, &c., in my intellect and my religion [thou art divorced]; (Mgh;) whence it seems that سِفْلَةٌ may be applied to a single person; but this requires consideration. (TA.) ↓ أَيْمَانُ السَّفِلَةِ means (assumed tropical:) [The oaths] of the ignorant: or according to Aboo- Haneefeh, of the heretics, or schismatics: such [oaths] are said to be وَوَجْهِ اللّٰهِ and وَأمَانَةِ اللّٰه. (Mgh.)