لفف

Core meaning

To press one against another by winding: to intertwine.

Uses

1. لَفِيف → "intertwined" : people brought back together, pressed to one another.

   • «جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًۭا» — "We shall bring you all together, intertwined" (17:104)

2. ٱلْتَفَّ → "to be intertwined" : a body winding upon itself.

   • «وَٱلْتَفَّتِ ٱلسَّاقُ بِٱلسَّاقِ» — "and the leg is intertwined with the leg" (75:29)

3. أَلْفَاف → "intertwined" : gardens with close-pressed branches.

   • «وَنَبَاتًۭا وَجَنَّٰتٍ أَلْفَافًا» — "and vegetation, and intertwined gardens" (78:16)

Evidence from the text

The same gesture holds at three scales: the leg intertwined with the leg at the hour of parting (75:29), the gardens with close-pressed branches that water makes grow (78:16), and people brought back "all together" when the promise of the second time comes (17:104). Each time, distinct elements are pressed to one another without merging.

Distinctions

• خلط — to mix until merged, whereas لفف presses together without merging
• جمع — to gather, whereas لفف says the pressed state of what is gathered