س • ح • م

, aor. سَحَمَ , inf. n. سَحَمٌ; and سَحُمَ; He, or it, was, or became, black. (Msb.)

They blackened his face; syn. حَيَّيُوهُ; as also سَخَّمُوهُ. (A, TA.)

The sky poured forth its water: (K:) mentioned as on the authority of IAar: but it has been mentioned before, on his authority, as with ج. (TA.)

Black; (S, Msb, K;) like أَسْخَمُ; (TA in art. سخم;) applied to the crow; see سُحْمَةٌ: (Lth, TA:) fem. سَحْمَاءُ; (Msb, TA;) applied to a plant of that colour; (ISk, TA;) and particularly to the نَصِىّ when it is of that colour, and thus applied as an intensive epithet; and to a woman in the same sense: (TA:) and ↓ إِسْحِمَانٌ signifies anything black (ISd, K) accord. to some; but this is a mistake, for it is only أَسْحَمُ. (ISd, TA.) [Hence,] الأَسْحَمُ is the name of A certain idol, (K, TA,) which was black. (TA.) And The night. (TA.) [Hence likewise,] أَسْحَمُ signifies also Clouds (سَحَابٌ): (S, K:) or, as some say, black clouds: and سَحْمَاءُ signifies a black cloud. (TA.) Also Blood into which are dipped the hands of persons swearing, one to another; (K;) or blood into which the hand is dipped on the occasion of swearing with another or others: said to have this meaning in the saying of El-Aashà,

رَضِيعَىْ لِبَانِ ثَدْىِ أُمٍّ تَحَالَفَا

بِأَسْحَمَ دَاجٍ عَوْضُ لَا تَتَفَرَّقُ

[Two foster-brothers by the sucking of the breast of one mother swore together, by dark blood into which they dipped their hands, that you, or they, i. e. a tribe (قَبِيلَة) or a company of men (جَمَاعَة), for, without the context, the meaning is doubtful, should not ever become separated]: or it has here one, or another, of three meanings here following. (S.) The womb. (S.) The nipple of a woman's breast: (K:) or the blackness of the nipple of a woman's breast. (S.) A skin such as is termed زِقّ for wine: (S, K:) because of its blackness: and ↓ سُحَيْمٌ also signifies a زِقّ (TA.) Also A horn: (S, K:) thus in the saying of Zuheyr,

وَتَذَبِيبُهَا عَنْهُ بِأَسْحَمَ مِذْوَدِ

[And the frequent repelling of her, or them, from him with a horn; so that مذود is merely an explicative adjunct, for it also means a horn, or it may be rendered here an instrument for repel-ling]: (S, * TA:) or [اسحم is here an epithet, and] the meaning is, with a black horn. (TA.) Another poet uses the phrase تَذُبُّ بِسَحْمَاوَيْنِ. [so in the TA, app. a mistranscription for تَذُبُّ,] i. e., [reading تَذُبُّ, She repels] with a pair of horns; using the fem, as meaning بِصِيصيَتَيْنِ; as though he said بِصِيصِيتَيْنِ سَحْمَاوَيْنِ [with two black horns]. (IAar, TA.) The fem., السَّحْمَاءُ also signifies The دُبُر [here meaning anus]: (K:) because of its colour. (TA.) For another signification of the fem., see سَحَمٌ.

Of the colour termed أُدْمَةٌ [here app. meaning tawniness] in an intense degree. (TA.) Also A sort of tree. (M, K.) A poet uses the phrase الأُسْحُمَانُ الأَسْحَمُ [The black, or dark, اسحمان]. (M, TA.)

See سُحْمَةٌ.

-A2- A sort of tree; (S, K;) like ↓ سَحْمَاءُ: (S:) the latter also signifies a sort of tree: (K:) the former is said by ISk to be a certain plant: and by AHn, to be a plant that grows like the نَصِىّ and صِلِّيَان and عَنْكَث, except that it is taller; the سَحَمَة [i. e. the single plant of this species] being sometimes as tall as a man, and larger. (TA.) -A3- Also Iron: (IAar, K:) n. un. with ة; meaning a lump, or piece, of iron. (IAar, TA.)

Blackness; (S, Msb, K;) as also ↓ سَحَمٌ, [mentioned above as inf. n. of سَحِمَ,] and ↓ سُحَامٌ; (K;) like [سُخْمَةٌ and] سَخَمٌ: (TA in art. سخم:) a blackness like the colour of the crow to which the epithet ↓ أَسْحَمُ is applied. (Lth, TA.)

[a pl. of which the sing. is not mentioned,] The blacksmith's hammers. (IAar, K.)