وَحْشٌ

, applied to a country, or region, (S, K,) and a place, (TA,) and a house (داَرٌ), (A,) and [its feminine] وَحْشَةٌ, applied to a land (أَرْضٌ), (S, TA,) to a house (دار); (A;) Desolate, deserted, or destitute of human beings or inhabitants; (S, K, TA;) as also ↓ مُوحِشٌ and ↓ مُتَوَحِّشٌ: (A:) and أَرْضٌ وَحْشَةٌ and ↓ مُسْتَوْحِشَةٌ signify the same. (K, TA.) You say also, بِلَادٌ حِشُونَ Countries, or regions, desolate, deserted, &c.; after the manner of سِنُونَ; and in the accusative and gen., حِشِينَ: plural, as Az says, of ↓ حِشَةٌ, originally وَحْشٌ, [So I read instead of وَحْشَة, which is evidently a mistranscription,] the و being wanting, as it is in زِنَةٌ and صِلَةٌ and عِدَةٌ. (TA.) You also say, لَقِيتُهُ بِوَحْشِ إِصْمِتَ, (S, K,) and إِصْمِتَةَ, (TA,) i. e., I found him, or met him, in a desolate, or deserted, country, or region. (S, K.) [See remarks on the last word in the former phrase in article صمت.] And in like manner, تَرَكْتُهُ بِوَحْشِ المَتْنِ I left him in the desert part of the elevated plain, where one could not reach him. (L, TA. *) And [hence] حِمَارُ وَحْشٍ An ass of a desert; [i. e. a wild ass;] as also حِمَارٌ وَحْشِىٌّ. (S, K.) [And بَقَرُ الوَحْشِ The bull and cow, or bulls and cows, collectively, of the desert; i. e., the wild bull and cow, or bulls and cows.]

[Hence also] Animals (حَيَوَان [which is used as a singular and a plural, but is here meant to be understood collectively, as appears from what follows,]) of the desert, (S, A, K, TA,) such as are not tame; (TA;) [i. e. wild animals;] of the feminine gender; (TA;) as also وُحُوشٌ (S) and ↓ وَحِيشٌ: (K:) these three words are all used in a collective sense: (ISh:) and ↓ وَحْشِىٌّ signifies a single one of such animals; (S, K;) like زَنْجِىٌّ in relation to زَنْجٌ, and رُومِىٌّ to رُومٌ: (TA:) or وَحْشٌ signifies such as is not tame, of beasts of the desert; and everything that is afraid of human beings (كُلُّ شَىْءٍ يَسْتَوْحِشُ عَنِ النَّاسِ); as also ↓ وَحْشِىٌّ, as though the ى were a corroborative, as in دوَّارِىٌّ: or, according to El-Fárábee, وَحْشٌ in the plural [lexicologically, but not in the language of the grammarians] of ↓ وَحْشِىٌّ, like as رُومٌ is of رُومِىٌّ: (Msb:) or it is used as a singular, as well as collectively; for you say, هٰذَا وَحْشٌ ضَخْمٌ [this is a bulky wild animal], and هٰذِهِ شَاةٌ وَحْشٌ [this is a wild sheep or goat, &c.]: (ISh:) وُحُوشٌ is a plural of وَحْشٌ, (Msb, K,) and so is وُحْشَانٌ, (Sgh, K,) and so is وَحِيشٌ, [lexicologically, but grammarians term it a quasi-plural n.,] like as ضَيءِينٌ is of ضَأْنٌ: (Sgh, TA:) or وُحُوشٌ is its only broken plural (TA.)

[Hence also, Wild, or shy; applied to girls or women: see an example of the word in this sense voce تَوٌّ, where it has a redundant ن affixed to it.]

[Hence also] Lone; solitary; without company. You say. مَشَى فِى الأَرْضِ وَحْشًا He walked, or went, in the land alone, having no other with him. (TA.)

[Hence also] Hungry; (S, A, K;) as also ↓ مُوحِشٌ, (AZ, A,) and ↓ مُتَوَحِّشٌ, (A,) and ↓ وَحِشٌ: (TA:) plural of the first, أَوْحَاشٌ (S, A, K) [and وَحْشُونَ]. You say, بَاتَ فُلَانٌ وَحْشًا, (S, A, * K, *) and مُوحِشًا, and مُتَوَحِّشًا, (A,) Such a one passed the night hungry, (S, A, K,) not having eaten anything, so that his inside was empty. (TA.) And بِتْنَا وَحْشِينَ We passed the night without food. (TA.) [In another place in the TA, we find لَقَدْ بِتْنَا لَيْلَتَنَا هٰذِهِ وَحْشِى, and so in the L; the last word being evidently a mistranscription, for وَحْشِينَ: and it is added, as though the speaker meant, جَمَاعَةَ وَحْشَى; doubtless a mistake for جَمَاعَةَ وَحْشٍ so that the saying seems to mean, We have passed this our night like a company of wild animals.]