Word Meaning
ज़ईफ़
za'īf
hiadjective
Meaning
Weak, feeble, frail, or infirm due to age or illness.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'za'īf' denotes extreme physical debility, advanced age, or utter helplessness. In this couplet, it qualifies dust ('ghubār-e-zaīf') to evoke a faint, settled stillness lacking the energy to rise or drift. It serves as a poignant metaphor for the speaker's own spent vitality and resignation.
Etymology
Arabic root ḍ-ʻ-f (ض-ع-ف), denoting weakness, deficiency, or frailty; entered Urdu through Persian.
Usage
Frequently invoked in the ghazal to portray the lover reduced to extreme frailty by the trials of passion and grief.
Examples
A frail heart that can no longer bear the burdens of sorrow.
Fallen like weak dust upon the desolate path.
Synonyms
कमज़ोरनातवाँदुर्बलअशक्त
Related Words
ज़ोफ़ज़ईफ़ीतज़ईफ़