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Persian

Pronunciation: /ˈpɜː.ʒən/

The English word “Persian” has 12 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Of, from, or pertaining to Persia.
  2. Of or pertaining to the Persian people.
  3. Of or pertaining to the Persian language.
  4. Of or pertaining to Persius (Roman writer)

noun

  1. A native or inhabitant of the historical polity of Persia (for example, any of the various Persian empires).
  2. An Iranian (person from Iran).
  3. A member of the ethnic group indigenous to Persis and the Iranian plateau that forms the majority of the population of modern-day Iran.
  4. A pastry local to the Thunder Bay region in Canada often compared to either a cinnamon bun or a donut topped with pink icing.
  5. A sheep of the Blackhead Persian breed.
  6. A thin silk fabric, formerly used for linings.
  7. Any of a set of male figures used instead of columns to support an entablature.

proper noun

  1. The Persian language, or a family of languages spoken primarily in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Etymology

From Middle English Persien, from Middle French persien, from Italian persiano, from Medieval Latin Persiānus, from Persia (itself from Persēs/Persa (“Persian man”) [from Ancient Greek Πέρσης (Pérsēs), itself from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 (p-a-r-s /⁠Pārsa⁠/, “Persian”)] + -ia (suffix forming country names)) + -iānus. Equivalent to Pers(ia) + -ian. Compare Early Classical Persian پارس (pārs) or modern…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.