Word Meaning
फ़ुरूअ
furū‘
Meaning
Branches, offshoots, secondary parts, or derived matters (plural of far‘).
Detailed Meaning
In Arabic and classical Urdu poetry, 'furū‘' refers to branches or offshoots extending from a root or origin ('asl'). In this couplet, Ghalib uses it metaphorically alongside 'asl' to suggest that secondary manifestations and spoken words draw their vitality solely from the underlying foundation of silence. It denotes the peripheral or developed expressions of an essential core.
Etymology
Arabic, broken plural of 'far‘' (فرع), from the triconsonantal root f-r-‘ denoting branching out or ascending.
Usage
In the ghazal, it almost exclusively appears in philosophical contemplation as a contrasting pair to 'asl' (origin, root, or essence).
Examples
Forgetting the root, we remained entangled only in the branches.
In the offshoots of love, every hidden color became manifest.