Iranian

Also I·ra·ni

[ih-rey-nee-uhn, ih-rah-, ahy-rey-]

adjective

1. of or relating to Iran, its inhabitants, or their language.

2. of or relating to the Iranian languages.

noun

1. a subbranch of the Indo-European family of languages, including especially Persian, Pashto, Avestan, and Kurdish.

2. an inhabitant of Iran; Persian.

Iranian

/ ɪˈreɪnɪən /

noun

1. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Iran

2. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, divided into West Iranian (including Old Persian, Pahlavi, modern Persian, Kurdish, Baluchi, and Tajik) and East Iranian (including Avestan, Sogdian, Pashto, and Ossetic)

3. Also: Persian.  Farsi. the modern Persian language

adjective

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Iran, its inhabitants, or their language; Persian

2. belonging to or relating to the Iranian branch of Indo-European

Other Word Forms

• anti-Iranian adjective
• pro-Iranian adjective
• pseudo-Iranian adjective
• trans-Iranian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Iranian¹

First recorded in 1835–45; Iran + -ian

Example Sentences

John Hurley, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, stopped in the U.A.E. and Turkey before visiting Lebanon earlier this month to discuss combating Iranian money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Two Iranian men aged 32 and 28 were arrested after immigration officers targeted multiple addresses in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Read more on BBC

For decades now, Iranian cinema has regularly been making news.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Tensions also have been growing between Iran and Afghanistan over the Helmand River, with Iranian leaders accusing their upstream neighbor of not letting enough water flow into the country.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested by Iranian authorities in January while on a motorbike trip from Europe to Australia.

Read more on BBC