# صنف
## Arabic
### Etymology 1

In the root ص ن ف (ṣ n f) one also finds صِنْفَة (ṣinfa, “border of a garment”), which fits Ge'ez ጽንፍ (ṣənf, “extremity, edge, border, fringe etc.”), suspiciously enough with alternative vocalization as in Arabic ጸንፍ (ṣänf). Due to the restricted semantic range and the varying vocalization one wonders about a borrowing from Aramaic. Christian Palestinian Aramaic has ܨܢܦܬܐ (“border, fringe (of a garment)”) and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic צנפה (ṣanpā, “border, fringe (of a garment)”) and צנף (“to wrap or gird oneself”), but Jewish Babylonian Aramaic סנפא, סינפא (sinpā, “side-room”) seems also similar, via the idea of an anyhow abstract pigeonhole or خَانَة (ḵāna) things are fitted into, not emphatic but no doubt related because in the same isolect there is the geminate verb סנפ (“to gird”), which is also found in Classical Syriac, while the Syriac base stem ܣܢܱܦ (snap̄) means “to introduce, to insert”; apparently a Western Aramaic—Eastern Aramaic anlaut variation. For the meaning development in to a “sort” also contrast نَمَط (namaṭ, “drugget, horse-rug; pattern, manner”). In modern Hebrew, סְנִיף (snif) is used as “branch, affiliate”.
The ultimate origin is suggested by the Dictionnaire du faisceau dialectal arabe andalou as ultimately Akkadian [script needed] (ṣiliptu, “diagonal”), related to Akkadian [script needed] (ṣalāpu, “to distort”), well also found in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic צלפ / Classical Syriac ܨܠܦ (ṣlap̄, “to split, to wound”), the geminate stem in Syriac and Jewish Literary Aramaic “to perforate” and “to wound”, the Syriac causative stem “to open up as to show”, with an unemphatic variant Jewish Babylonian Aramaic סלף (“to wound”), Jewish Literary Aramaic סלף (“to wound”).

#### Verb

صَنَّفَ • (ṣannafa) II (non-past يُصَنِّفُ (yuṣannifu), verbal noun تَصْنِيف (taṣnīf))
* to sort, classify, or categorize something
* to compile or compose

##### Conjugation
#### Noun

صِنْف • (ṣinf) m (plural أَصْنَاف (ʔaṣnāf))
صَنْف • (ṣanf) m (plural صُنُوف (ṣunūf))
* kind, sort, specimen
* class, genus, species, category
* (Classical Arabic) fringe, hem, border of a garment

##### Descendants

* → Azerbaijani: sinif
* → Bashkir: синыф (sinıf)
* → Kazakh: сынып (synyp)
* → Kyrgyz: сынып (sınıp)
* → Pashto: صنف
* → Ottoman Turkish: صنف (sınf, sınıf)
** Turkish: sınıf
** → Crimean Tatar: sınıf
** → Laz: სინიჶი (sinifi)
* → Persian: صنف
* → Spanish: cenefa
* → Tatar: сыйныф (sıynıf)
* → Tajik: синф (sinf)
* → Turkmen: synp
* → Uzbek: sinf
* → Uyghur: سىنىپ (sinip)
* → Greek: σινάφι (sináfi)
* → Swahili: sanifu

### Etymology 2

Probably borrowed from Middle Persian *čamp with Middle Persian č rendered as Arabic ṣ, as found in other borrowings from Persian: صَنْج (ṣanj), صَارُوج (ṣārūj), صَهْرِيج (ṣahrīj), الصِّين (aṣ-ṣīn).

#### Proper noun

صَنْف • (ṣanf) f (Classical Arabic)
* Champa (a historical region in Farther India)

##### Declension
### Further reading

* Corriente, Federico, Pereira, Christophe, Vicente, Angeles, editors (2017), Dictionnaire du faisceau dialectal arabe andalou. Perspectives phraséologiques et étymologiques (in French), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 776
* Curwin, David (2022 October 2) “snif”, in Balashon‎
* Freytag, Georg (1833) “صنف”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎ (in Latin), volume 2, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, pages 526b–527a
* “ṣnp”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
* “snp”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
* “ṣlp”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
* “slp”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–

## Ottoman Turkish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic صِنْف (ṣinf, “kind, sort”).

### Noun

صنف • (sınf or sınıf) (definite accusative صنفی (sınfı), plural اصناف (esnâf) or صنوف (sunuf))
* kind, sort, type, variety, a class of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together
    Synonyms: جنس (cins), چشید (çeşid), صوی (soy), فن (fenn), نوع (nevʼ)
* class, category, a group, collection, or set to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria
* classroom, schoolroom, a room, often in a school, where classes take place and in which both children and adults learn
    Synonym: درسخانه (dershâne)
* guild, corporation, any association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft or trade
    Synonyms: اصناف (esnâf), لونجه (lonca)

#### Derived terms

* احتیاط صنفی (ihtiyat sınfı, “preparatory class”)
* ردیف صنفی (redif sınfı, “reserve class”)
* همر صنف (hemr sınf, “of the same class or category”)

#### Descendants

* Turkish: sınıf
* → Crimean Tatar: sınıf
* → Laz: სინიჶი (sinifi)

### Further reading

* Barbier de Meynard, Charles (1886) “صنف”, in Dictionnaire turc-français, volume II, Paris: E. Leroux, page 220
* Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “sınıf”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 4204
* Devellioğlu, Ferit (1962) “sınıf”, in Osmanlıca-Türkçe Ansiklopedik Lûgat‎‎ (in Turkish), Istanbul: Türk Dil Kurumu, page 1138
* Kélékian, Diran (1911) “صنف”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎, Constantinople: Mihran, page 769
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Species”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎, Vienna, column 1579
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “صنف”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎, Vienna, columns 2993-2994
* Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “sınıf”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
* Redhouse, James W. (1890) “صنف”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1187

## Persian
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic صِنْف (ṣinf).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [sinf]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [sɪɱf]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [sɪɱf]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [sɪɱf]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [siɱf]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [seɱf]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [siɱf]

#### Noun

صنف • (senf) (plural اصناف (asnâf))
* (Dari) class (group, collection, category or set sharing characteristics or attributes)
* guild (a group of tradespeople made up of merchants, craftspeople, or artisans)

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic صَنْف (ṣanf).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [sanf]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [säɱf]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [säɱf]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [säɱf]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [säɱf]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [sæɱf]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [säɱf]

#### Proper noun

صنف • (sanf)
* Champa (a historical region in Farther India)

## Urdu
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian صِنْف (sinf), from Arabic صِنْف (ṣinf).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /sɪnf/

### Noun

صِنْف • (sinf) m (formal plural اَصْناف (asnāf), Hindi spelling सिंफ़)
* a genre
* (sociology, gender studies) gender

#### Related terms

* صِنْف کا اِظْہار m (sinf kā izhār)
* صِنْفِی (sinfī)
* صِنْفی شَناخْت f (sinfī śanāxt)

### References

* “صنف”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* “sinf”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.