February 28, 2023

Fabrics

If a robe is woven on a loom of two heddle rods, it is called munayyar. If it has little quadrangular shapes on it resembling a wild ass's eyes, it is called mu‘ayyan. If is ruled with linear forms, it is called mu‘aḍḍad and mushaṭṭab. If it has bands [of different colors], then it is musayyar. If it has white lines upon it, or other designs in white, it is mufawwaf.

A robe of chevroned pattern is musahham. A robe with columnar forms on it is mu‘ammad. A robe with stair-like forms on it is mu‘arraj. A robe with lunate designs and figures is muhallal. According to Abu ‘Amr (?), a robe that is decorated with cubical forms is called muka‘‘ab. A robe with bright coin-like spots is mufallas, a robe with birdlike figures is muṭayyar, and a robe with horse-like figures is mukhayyal.

Abu 'l-Ḥasan al-Salami gave an excellent description of a battlefield (meter: kāmil):

      The sky was a patterned robe, muṭayyar with its vultures.
          The earth was a patterned bed spread, mukhayyal with fine horses.

From The Statutes of Lexicography by Abu Mansur al-Tha‘alibi