Daily conversations   Food & Restaurant   Travel & Car   Family   Home   Occupations   Kitchen   Week days & Seasons   School   Numbers   Colours   Parts of human body   Things   Persian language   Persian alphabet   Persian grammar   Persian Music   Persian foods   Persian poems   Iranian scientists   English words of Persian origin   Free Downloads   Support   Feedback   Upload your video   Search	List of English words of Persian origin                                        As fellow Indo-European languages, English and Persian have many words which share a common Proto-Indo-European origin, and many of these cognate words often have similar forms. However, this article will be concerned with loanwords, that is, words in English that derive from Persian, either directly, or more often, via one or more intermediary languages. Many words of Persian origin have made their way into the English language through different, often circuitous, routes. Some of them, like "paradise" date to the cultural contacts between the Persians and Greeks in the Hellenistic culture of Antiquity, and through Greek and then Latin found their way to English. Or Mihrab from the time of Persian conflicts with Rome. 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 remained largely impenetrable to English-speaking travellers, well into the 19th century. This may explain why not quite as many Persian words as one may imagine have made their way in English. Persia was protected from Europe by overland trade routes that passed through territory inhospitable to foreigners, 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 from the 1570s, 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. Compare List of English words of Etruscan origin for a similar situation. 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 Arabic or, much later, through Hindi during the British Raj. A azure (color) from Medieval Latin azura, from Persian lājaward [1] B babouche from Persian papoosh (پاپوش), from pa "foot" + poosh "covering." [2] baksheesh from Persian bakhshesh (بخشش), lit. "gift," from verb bakhshidan "to give."[3] ban (title) "governor of Croatia," from Serbo-Croat. ban "lord, master, ruler," from Persian baan (بان) "prince, lord, chief, governor" [4] barbican possibly from Persian (khāneh "house"). [5] bazaar from Persian بازار bāzār (="market"), from Middle-Persian bahâ-zâr ("The Place of Prices").[6] bezoar from pād-zahr (پادزهر) antidote [7] borax from burah [8] bulbul from bulbul nightingale (=type of migratory songbird native to Kenya) [9] buzkashi from Persian buz "goat" + kashi "dragging" [10] C calabash possibly from Persian kharabuz, Kharbuzeh (خربزه) melon. [11] carafe from Arabic gharafa (قرافه), "to pour"; or from Persian qarabah, (قرابه) "a large flagon"[12] caravan from kārawān =("to go")[13] caviar from khāviār(خاویار). cassock possibly ultimately from Persian kazhagand (كژآكند) "padded coat," from kazh "raw silk" + agand "stuffed."[14] check check (n.) from O.Fr. eschequier "a check at chess," from eschec, from V.L. *scaccus, from Persian 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, American English, on notion of a checklist of things to be examined. [15] checkmate from Middle French eschec mat, from Persian shâh mât (="the King cannot escape") [16] chess from Russian Shach, from Persian shah ("the King"), an abbreviation of Shâh-mât (Checkmate).[17] cinnabar probably from Persian zanjifrah[18] cummerbund from Hindi kamarband (كمربند), from Persian, from kamar (="waist") + band (="band")[19] D demitasse from Fr., lit. "half-cup," from demi- + tasse, an O.Fr. borrowing from Arabic tassah, from Pers. tasht "cup, saucer". dervish from Darvish[20] divan fom Persian dēvān (="place of assembly", "roster"), from Old Persian dipi (="writing, document") + vahanam (="house")[21] E F Farsi the name for Persian in Arabic. Standard Arabic lacks the /p/ phoneme, as a result, the Arabs who invaded Persia slowly began to refer to the language and the people as "Farsi", rather than "Parsi". [22] Feringhee from Pers. Farangi: from the word French: a person from France: the first foreigners that significantly influenced the government under the Ghajar dynasty in Iran. [23] firman from Persian فرمان farmân ("decree", "order").[24] G galingale from Persian خلنجان khalanjan, a plant.[25] gherkin possibly ult. from Medieval Gk. angourion "a kind of cucumber," said to possibly be from Pers. angūr, "grape"[26] giaour from Pers. gaur, variant of gabr "fire-worshipper" [27][28] H Hindu from Pers. Hindu "Indian"[29] I India from Persian Hind.[30] J jackal from Persian shaghāl, Any of several doglike mammals of the genus Canis of Africa and southern Asia that are mainly foragers feeding on plants, small animals, and occasionally carrion.[31] jasmine from yasmin, the name of a climbing plant with fragrant flowers.[32] julep from gulab (rose-water).[33] jungle from jangal (forest) K kabob or kebab, possibly from Persian kabab, or from identical forms in Arabic and Urdu[34] kaftan from Persian خفتان khaftân.[35] khaki from khaki (="made from soil", "dusty" or "of the colour of soil"), from khak (= "soil")[36] kiosk from kushk (="palace, portico, pavilion") or Middle Persian gōšak "corner"[37] koh-i-noor from Pers. koh "mountain"." [38] L lemon possibly from Persian limoo, also possibly from Urdu, Arabic, and Turkish[39] lilac from Pers. lilak, variant of nilak "bluish," from nil "indigo"[40] M magic, magical, magician from magus from Old Persian maguš "mighty one" [41][42] magus, magi from magus, from Old Persian maguš "mighty one", Priest of Zoroastrianism[42] manticore from O. Pers. word for "man eater," cf. martiya- "man" + root of khvar- "to eat." [43] Mithra from the name of the Persian God Mithra.[44] Mithraeum from Persian Mithra[45][44] Mithraism from Persian Mithra[46][44] Mogul from mughul (="Mongolian") [47] mullah from Persian Molla[48] musk ultimately from Middle Persian musk, from Sanskrit muska (="testicle") from diminutive of mus (="mouse")[49] Mussulman from Pers. musulman (adj.), from Arabic Muslim (q.v.) + Persian adj. suffix -an.[50] N Naphtha via L., from Gk. naphtha "bitumen," perhaps from Pers. naft "oil", "pitch," Narcissus may be from Persian nargis (may also be a Pelasgian word) 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 Portuguese 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 Median/Proto-Kurdish pairidaeza (="enclosure, park"), from pairi (="around") + diz (="mold, form"). The word is still used in Kurdish, and is pronounced Pardês. Parasang from Old-Persian parasang Pard Zie Parsee from Pârsi Parthia from Latin< Old Persian parthava-, variant form of the stem Parsa-, from which Persia derives Parthian see Parthia Pasha from Pâdshâh Pashmina from Pashmineh, made from pashm; pashm (= "wool") Peach a corruption of the Latin word "Persicum." Peaches are called in Latin malum Persicum (Persian apple) prunum persicum (Persian plum), or simply persicum (pl. persici). This should not be confused with the more modern Linnaean classification Prunus persica, a neologism describing the peach tree itself (from the Latin prunus, -i which signifies "plum tree"). Peri from pari Persepolis from Pârsa+ Greek polis. Persia Persian Persis from Pârs 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 Middle French roc, from Arabic rukhkh, from Persian رخ rukh (=chess piece) rose from Latin rosa, probably from ancient Greek rhodon, possibly ult. from Pers. *varda-. 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.Rokh-sána meaning "beautiful" S Saffron Zaferoon Sapindales from Persian Spand (اسپند) Satrap from Persian Shatrap and Shahrab. scarlet from Pers. saqirlat "a type of red 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 "inn" 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, sometimes said to be named for Shaliat, town in India where it was first manufactured. Sherry from Jerez in Spain, from Pers Shiraz, from the time of Rustamid empire in Spain Shisha from shisha or shisheh or شیشه 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 isfānākh, from Persian from isfānāj, ispānāk, or aspanākh -Stan from -istân "place" or "where one stands" Sugar Possibly from Persian Shekar Sumac possibly from Persian Somagh. T Tabor probably from Middle Pers. tambūr "lute" 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". Talc from Pers. talk "talc." Tambourine from Middle French tambour (="drum"), possibly from Middle Pers. tambūr "lute" Tandoori from Pers. tannur "oven, portable furnace," Tapestry from tâfteh Tiger via Greek tigris from an Iranian source Toque from O. Pers. taq "veil, shawl." Tulip from French tulipe, from Persian dulband Turan from Persian توران Turban from Persian dulband Band = To close, To tie Turkmenistan With Persian suffix -menistan typhoon طوفان from Persian Tufân or Greek Typhon; also affected by Cantonese taai-fung U Uzbekistan With Persian suffix -stan V vizier وزير etymology disputed; general references often derive it from Arabic wazir, "viceroy", lit. "one who bears (the burden of office)", lit. "porter, carrier", from Arabic wazara, "he carried". However, Jared S. Klein derives it from Middle Persian vichir, from Avestan vicira, "arbitrator, judge". X Xerxes Gk. form of O. Pers. Kshayarshan-, lit. "male (i.e. 'hero') among kings," from Kshaya- "king" (cf. shah) + arshan "male, man." Z Zamindar meaning "Possessor of real estate" in Persian. Zarathushtra or Zarathustra the Persian prophet Zena feminine given name from Persian Zan (woman). Zircon from Persian zargun, "gold-colored" Zirconate zircon + the suffix -ate, from Latin -atus Zirconia zircon + the New Latin -ia suffix Zirconium zircon + the New Latin suffix -ium References Note: "OED" means Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. OED Online Oxford University Press. Accessed May 3, 2006. "azure", OED "babouche", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "baksheesh", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "ban, n.2", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "barbican", OED "bazaar", OED "bezoar", OED "borax", OED "bulbul", OED "buzkashi", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "calabash", OED "carafe", OED "caravan", OED "cassock", OED "check, int. and n.1", OED "checkmate, int. and n.", OED "chess, n.1", OED "cinnabar", OED "cummerbund", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "dervish", OED "divan", OED "Farsi, n. (a.)", OED "Feringhee", OED "firman", OED "galingale", OED "gherkin", OED "giaour", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "Guebre", OED "Hindu, Hindoo, n. and a.", OED "India", OED "jackal", OED "jasmine, -in, jessamine, -in", OED "julep", OED "cabob", OED "caftan", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "khaki", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "kiosk", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "koh-i-noor", OED (marked as "not naturalized, alien") "lemon", OED "lilac", OED "magic", OED a b "magus", OED "manticore", OED a b c "mithras", OED "Mithraeum", OED "Mithraism", OED "Mogul, n.1 and a.", OED "mullah, n.", OED "musk, n.", OED "Mussulman, n. and a.", OED Source: wikipedia.org