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Persia

American  
[pur-zhuh, -shuh] / ˈpɜr ʒə, -ʃə /

noun

  1. Also called Persian Empire.  an ancient empire located in W and SW Asia: at its height it extended from Egypt and the Aegean to India; conquered by Alexander the Great 334–331 b.c.

  2. former official name (until 1935) of Iran.


Persia British  
/ ˈpɜːʃə /

noun

  1. the former name (until 1935) of Iran

  2. another name for Persian Empire

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The playwrights of Athens dramatized the tragic tales of kings, including Xerxes of Persia, whose overweening ambitions led the rulers to ruin.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

Of course, the nut itself has been cultivated for thousands of years in Persia, modern day Iran, where pistachios are still the country’s number one commodity crop.

From Salon • May 6, 2026

She added that the only comparable instrument was likely one made for Abbas II of Persia.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

After its triumph in war with Persia, Athens under Pericles began to treat its allies as subordinates to be exploited.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

He had survived pellagra in Persia, scurvy in the Malayan archipelago, leprosy in Alexandria, beriberi in Japan, bubonic plague in Madagascar, an earthquake in Sicily, and a disastrous shipwreck in the Strait of Magellan.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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