Note 215 — THE LINGUIST-DAME, THE DUENNA AND THE KING’S SON.
Richard Francis Burton translation · Edition 2
In text ظفر Zafar = victory. It may also be “Zifr” = alluding to the horny matter which, according to Moslem tradition, covered the bodies of “our first parents” and of which after the “original sin” nothing remained but the nails of their fingers and toes. It was only when this disappeared that they became conscious of their nudity. So says M. Houdas; but I prefer to consider the word as a clerical error for ضفر Zafar = plaited hair.