Persian

American  

[pur-zhuhn, -shuhn] / ˈpɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

adjective

1. of or relating to ancient and recent Persia (now Iran), its people, or their language.

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noun

1. a member of the native peoples of Iran, descended in part from the ancient Iranians.

2. a citizen of ancient Persia.

3. an Iranian language, the principal language of Iran and western Afghanistan, in its historical and modern forms. Pers, Pers.

4. Architecture. a figure of a man used as a column.

5. Persians. Persian blinds.

Persian British  

/ ˈpɜːʃən /

adjective

1. of or relating to ancient Persia or modern Iran, their inhabitants, or their languages

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noun

1. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of modern Iran; an Iranian

2. a member of an Indo-European people of West Iranian speech who established a great empire in SW Asia in the 6th century _bc

3. the language of Iran or Persia in any of its ancient or modern forms, belonging to the West Iranian branch of the Indo-European family See also Avestan Old Persian Pahlavi 2 Farsi

Other Word Forms

• pre-Persian adjective
• pseudo-Persian adjective
• trans-Persian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Persian

First recorded in 1325–75; Persi(a) + -an; replacing Middle English Persien, from Middle French; replacing Old English Persisc ( -ish ¹ )

Example Sentences

The waterway is a crucial maritime passage for crude transport that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Seas.

From MarketWatch

The waterway is a crucial maritime passage for crude transport that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Seas.

From MarketWatch

Economically, the country is entering what should be its busiest shopping season ahead of Nowruz - the Persian New Year - yet the atmosphere is not like it normally is at this time.

From BBC

Bush ordered a ceasefire effective at midnight and declared victory in the Persian Gulf War.

From The Wall Street Journal

A fresh wave of anti-government protests staged by students at several Iranian universities that began on Saturday has spread to more campuses, footage confirmed by BBC Verify and BBC Persian shows.

From BBC