List of English words of Persian origin

Many words of Persian origin have made their way into English through different circuitous routes. Some of them, like "paradise" date to the cultural contacts between the Persians and Greeks in the Hellenistic culture of Antiquity. Persian as the second important language of Islam has influenced many languages in the Muslim world, and its words have found their way beyond the Muslim world. Persia, which was never colonised by outsiders, remained largely impenetrable to English-speaking travellers, well into the 19th century. Persia was protected from Europe in overland trade routes, while trade at Persian ports in the Persian Gulf was in the hands of locals. In contrast, intrepid English traders operated in Mediterranean seaports of the Levant since the 16th century, and some vocabulary describing features of Ottoman culture found their way into the English language. Thus many in the following list of English borrowings, though they were originally from Persian, arrived in English through Turkish mediaries. Other words of Persian origin found their way into European languages— and eventually reached English at second-hand— through the Moorish-Christian cultural interface in the Iberian peninsula during the Middle Ages thus being transmitted through Arabi or, much later, through Hindi during the British Raj.

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The list:

A

;absinthe : from Persian Spand. ;Afghanistan: Persian name for that country ;Ahriman: from Persian Ahriman. ;Ahura Mazda : from Old. Pers. ;algorithm : from the name of the Persian scientist Khwarazmi ;Angra Mainyu : older version of Ahriman ;Armenia: from Persian Arman. ;arsenic : from zarnig ;Asmodeus evil spirit, prince of demons, from L. Asmodaeus, from Gk. Asmodaios, from Talmudic Heb. Ashmeday, from Avestan (Old-Iranian) Aesh-ma-dæva, lit. "Aeshma the deceitful." ;Arya :from Ariya ;Aryan : from Persian Arya. ;aubergine : from Persian بادنجان Bâdinjân itself maybe originally from Sanskrit. ;azure : from lajavard

B

;babouche : via Ar. babush, from Pers. papush, from pa "foot" + posh "covering." ;Bactrian : from Pers. bâkhtar "the west." ;baksheesh : from Pers. bakhshish, lit. "gift," from verb bakhshidan "to give." ;ban : "governor of Croatia," from Serbo-Croat. ban "lord, master, ruler," from Pers. ban "prince, lord, chief, governor," ;banyan : Zie ;barbican: from Ar. bāb "gate/door" + Pers. (khāneh "house"). ;bazaar : from Persian بازار bāzār (="market"), from Middle-Persian bahâ-zâr ("The Place of Prices"). ;bezoar : from pAd-zahr ;bombast : from pambak "cotton". ;borax : from burah ;bronze : Perhaps ultimately from Pers. birinj "copper." ;bulbul : from bulbul (=type of migratory songbird native to Kenya) ;buzkashi : from Pers. buz "goat" + kashi "drawing."

C

;calabash : from Pers. kharabuz , Kharbuzeh ;cameo : from Pers. chumahan "agate." ;cannabis : via Greek kannabis "hemp," probably from a north-eastern Iranian (Scythian) word. ;carafe : probably from Pers. qarabah "a large flagon." or Ar. ghurruf "drinking cup" ;caravan : from kārawān =("to go") ;Casper : from Persian Jasper ;cassock : probably ult. from Pers. kazhagand "padded coat," from kazh "raw silk" + agana "stuffed." ;caviar : from Khâg-âvar ("bringer of eggs") ;chador : from châdor ;check :check (n.) from O.Fr. eschequier "a check at chess," from eschec, from V.L.

• scaccus, from Ar. shah, from Pers. shah "king," the principal piece in a chess game (see shah). When the king is in check a player's choices are limited. Meaning widened from chess to general sense of "adverse event, sudden stoppage" and by c.1700 to "a token used to check against loss or theft" (surviving in hat check) and "a check against forgery or alteration," which gave the modern financial use of "bank check, money draft" (first recorded 1798), probably influenced by exchequeur. Check-up "careful examination" is 1921, Amer.Eng., on notion of a checklist of things to be examined.

;checkmate : from Middle French eschec mat, from Arabic shah mat, from Persian shâh mât (="the King cannot escape/is dead") ;chess : from Russian Shach, from Persian shah ("the King"), an abbreviation of Shâh-mât (Checkmate). ;cinnabar : probably from Pers. zanjifrah ;Cumin : from Kerman ;cummerbund : from Hindi kamarband, from Persian, from kamar (="waist") + band (="band") ;Cyrus: from Persian Kurosh, diminutive: Cy

D

;Darius ;demi-tasse : from Fr., lit. "half-cup," from demi- + tasse, an O.Fr. borrowing from Arabic tassah, from Pers. tasht "cup, saucer". ;dervish : from Darvish ;divan : via Turkish divan, from Persian dēvān (="place of assembly", "roster"), from Old Persian dipi (="writing, document") + vahanam (="house")

E

;Esther: from Persian setareh, its diminutives are: Ess, Essie, Tess, Tessie. Euphrates ;Euphrates : O.E. Eufrate, from Gk., from Avestan (Old-Iranian) huperethuua "good to cross over," from hu- "good" + peretu- "ford."

F

;Farsi, the local name for Persian in Persian. ;Feringhee : from Pers. Farangi ;firman : from Persian فرمان farmân ("decree", "order").

G

; galingale : from Persian خلنجان khalanjan, a plant. ;Georgia: from Persian Gurjistan. ;gherkin : possibly ult. from Medieval Gk. angourion "a kind of cucumber," said to be from Pers. angarah ;giaour from Pers. gaur, variant of gabr "fire-worshipper," ;guitar : from Persian sitaar "Three snares".

H

;henna : Zie. ;Hindu : from Pers. Hindu "Indian"

I

;India: from Persian Hind.

J

;jasmine : from yasmin, the name of a climbing plant with fragrant flowers. Variant Jasmin. ;Jasper (boy's name): from Persian meaning "treasure master". ;Jasper (stone): from Persian Yashp ;jujube : from Pers. zayzafun meaning "soft candy with date-like flavor" ;julep : from gulab (rose-water).

K

;kabob : possibly from Persian kabab, also possibly from Urdu, Arabic, and Turkish ;Kaftan : from Persian خفتان khaftân. ;Kazakhstan : With Persian suffix -stan ;khaki : from khaki (="made from soil", "dusty" or "of the colour of soil"), from khak (= "soil"), ;Khedive : via Turkish from Pers. khidiv "prince," derivative of khuda "master, prince," from Old-Persian khvadata- "lord," ;kiosk : from kushk (="palace, portico, pavilion") ;Koh-i-Noor : from Pers. koh "mountain" + Ar. nur "light." ;Kyrgyzstan : With Persian suffix -stan

L

;lacquer : through Ar. lakk, from Pers. lak ;lemon : possibly from Persian limon, also possibly from Urdu, Arabic, and Turkish ;lilac : from Pers. lilak, variant of nilak "bluish," from nil "indigo"

M

;magi : from magus from Persian Mogh (="sorcerer") ;magic : from magus from Persian Mogh (="sorcerer") ;magus : from Persian Mogh (="sorcerer") ;manticore : from O. Pers. word for "man eater," cf. martiya- "man" + root of khvar- "to eat." ;Mausoleum: from the name of a Persian satrap ;Mihrab: from Persian Mihr (the God Mithra) ;Mithra: from the name of the Persian God Mithra. ;Mithraeum: from Persian Mithra ;Mithraism ;mogul : from mughul (="Mongolian") ;Mosque: through Arabic masjid from Middle-Persian mazgat (House of worship) ;mummy : from Pers. mumiya "asphalt," from mum "wax." ;musk : ultimately from Middle Persian musk, from Sanskrit muska (="testicle") from diminutive of mus (="mouse") ;Mussulman : from Pers. musulman (adj.), from Arabic muslim (q.v.) + Persian adj. suffix -an. ;must : via Urdu mast "intoxicated, in rut," from Pers. mast, lit. "intoxicated"

N

;naphtha : via L., from Gk. naphtha "bitumen," perhaps from Pers. naft "oil", "pitch,"

O

;orange : from Milanese narans, from Arabic nāranj, from Persian nārang, from Sanskrit nāraṅga, from some Dravidian language, possibly Tamil or Malayalam

P

;pagoda via Portugeese pagode, from a corruption of Pers. butkada, from but "idol" + kada "dwelling." ;pajamas: from Hindi paajaama, from Persian pāë (pāÿ) jāmah, from pAy (="leg") + jAma (="garment") ;Pahlavi : from Pahlavi. ;paradise : from Greek paradeisos (=enclosed park"), from Old Persian pairidaeza (="enclosure, park"), from pairi (="around") + diz (="mold, form") ;parasang : from Old-Persian parasang ;pard : Zie ;Parsee : from Pârsi ;Pasha : from Pâdshâh ;peach : a corruption of the Latin word Persica. Peaches are called in Latin Prunus persica (Persian Prune). ;Peri : from pari ;Persepolis : from Pârsa+ Greek polis. ;Persis : from Pârs ;pilaf : from pilav (modern Persian speakers say pillaw or polo) ;pistachio : from Latin pistācium, from Greek πιστάκιον, from Persian pistah ;popinjay : from O.Fr. papegai (12c.), from Sp. papagayo, from Ar. babagha', from Pers. babgha "parrot," ;Punjab : via Hindi Panjab, from Pers. panj "five" + ab "water."

R

;roc : from Persian rukh (name of a legendary bird) ;rook : from Middle English rok, from Midle French roc, from Arabic rukhkh, from Persian رخ rukh (=chess piece) ;Rose : ult. from Pers.

• vrda-. Zie

;Roxana: from Persian: روشنك Roshanak, meaning "little star" its variants in English are meaning "dawn." Variants include, Roxane and Roxanne. Diminutives are Roxie and Roxy.

S

;saffron possibly Persian ;Satrap: from Persian Shatrap and Shahrab. ;scarlet : from Pers. saqirlat "a kind of rich cloth" ;scimitar : from Pers. shimshir (''Shamshir'') ;seersucker : from Hindi sirsakar, E. Indian corruption of Pers. shir o shakkar "striped cloth," lit. "milk and sugar". ;Sepoy: from Persian Sipahi via Urdu ;seraglio : from sarây ;serendipity : from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, from Persian Sarandip (="Sri Lanka"), ;shah : from shāh, from Old Persian χšāyaþiya (="king"), from an Old Persian verb meaning "to rule" ;Shamshir : from shamshir ;shawl : from shāl ;simurgh : from simurgh ;Sipahis: from Persian Sipahi via Turkish ;sitar : via Hindi sitar, from Pers. sitar "three-stringed," from si "three" (O.Pers. thri-) + tar "string" ;sowar: from Persian Savâr. ;spinach : from French espinache, from Arabic isfAnAkh, from Persian from isfānāj, ispānāk, or aspanākh ;Stan : from -istân ;sugar : from Middle French sucre, from Latin zuccarum, from Arabic sukkar', from Persian shakar'', from Sanskrit sakara (="pebble") ;Sumac possibly from Persian Sumak.

T

;tabor : probably from Pers. tabir "drum," ;taffeta : from Pers. taftah "silk or linen cloth," ;Tajikistan : With Persian suffix -stan ;Taj Mahal : from Pers., lit. "the best of buildings;" or "the Crown's Place", second element related to Arabic halla "to lodge." ;talc : from Pers. talk "talc." ;tambourine : from Middle French tambour (="drum"), possibly originally from Persian tabirah (="drum") ;tandoori : from Pers. tannur "oven, portable furnace," ;tapestry : from tâfteh ;Tartar : from M.L. Tartarus, from Pers. Tatar ;tiger : via Greek tigris from an Iranian source ;toque : from O. Pers. taq "veil, shawl." ;turban : via Turkish tülbent, from Persian dulband ;Turkmenistan : With Persian suffix -stan ;Turkoman : from M.L. Turcomannus, from Pers. Turkman, lit. "Turk-like," from Turk + Persian suffix -man "like." ; typhoon : طوفان from Persian Tufân or Greek Typhon; also affected by Cantonese taai-fung

U

;Uzbekistan : With Persian suffix -stan

V

;vizier : وزير from persian Vizier "minister" from Middle-Persian Vichir.

X

;Xerxes : Gk. form of O. Pers. Kshayarshan-, lit. "male (i.e. hero) among kings," from Kshaya- "king" (cf. shah) + arshan "male, man."

Z

;Zarathustra, the Persian prophet ;Zena : girl's name from Persian Zan (woman). ;zircon : from zargûn (="gold colour") ;zirconium : from zargûn (="gold colour") ;Zoroaster: from Persian Zarathustra ;Zoroastrianism

Sources

Online etymology dictionary

See also

• Lists of English words of international origin

Persian

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