خَرُوفٌ

A lamb; synonym حَمَلٌ [q. v.]: (S, Msb:) or the male young one of the sheep-kind: or such as has pastured, and become strong: (Lth, K:) younger than the جَذَع: (Lth, TA:) so called because it depastures from this place and this: (Msb, TA: [see 1:]) feminine with ة: (K:) plural (of pauc., TA) أَخْرِفَةٌ and (of mult., TA) خِرْفَانٌ. (Msb, K, TA.) The latter plural is sometimes used as meaning (assumed tropical:) Young and ignorant persons; like as كِبَاشٌ is used as meaning aged and learned persons. (TA.) And hence the prov., كَالْخَرُوفِ أَيْنَمَا اتَّكَأَ عَلَى صُوفٍ [Like the lamb: wherever he reclines, he reclines upon wool]: (JK, TA: but in the latter, اتّكى:) applied to him who leads a soft and delicate life. (TA.)

Also, (sometimes, S,) A colt; the male offspring of a mare; when he has attained the age of six months, or seven months; (S, K;) a meaning assigned to it by As, in the “ Book of the Horse; ” but unknown to Abu-l-Ghowth: (S:) or, until a year old: (ISk, K:) it is said by some to be applied to a horse: in the L it is said that the خروف of horses is such as is brought forth in the [season called] خَرِيف: but Khálid Ibn-Jebeleh says that it means such as pastures upon the [herbage of the season called] خَرِيف: and Suh thinks that it is an epithet applied to a horse, and any beast, as meaning that depastures the trees and herbage. (TA.)