«فَدَخَلَ ذُو لِحْيَةٍ كَثَّةٍ وَهَيْئَةٍ رَثَّةٍ»
A man entered with a thick beard and a shabby appearance.
Liḥyah kaththah is a thick beard, and hayʾah raththah describes a worn or shabby bearing. The near-rhyme makes his first appearance particularly memorable.
His status is not identified. The contrast to watch is between the unpromising exterior and the eloquence that soon becomes evident.
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The Ḥulwān Maqāmah: A Literary Assembly and a Contest of Verse
«فَدَخَلَ ذُو لِحْيَةٍ كَثَّةٍ وَهَيْئَةٍ رَثَّةٍ»
A man entered with a thick beard and a shabby appearance.
Liḥyah kaththah is a thick beard, and hayʾah raththah describes a worn or shabby bearing. The near-rhyme makes his first appearance particularly memorable.
His status is not identified. The contrast to watch is between the unpromising exterior and the eloquence that soon becomes evident.