Persian

[pur-zhuhn, -shuhn]

adjective

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

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

/ ˈpɜːʃən /

adjective

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Persian¹

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

Example Sentences

Nearly 50 years earlier, in 480 B.C., the two cities had united to lead the Hellenic alliance that repelled a Persian invasion.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The 21-piece hemisphere collection makes a delightful and delicious gift, featuring flavors such as saffron, Persian rose, yuzu and burnt caramel.

Read more on Salon

Iran has periodically seized tankers and cargo ships travelling in and around the Persian Gulf, which is a key global shipping route for oil and liquefied natural gas.

Read more on BBC

"I'm planning to buy water tankers to use for toilets and other necessities," a woman in Tehran told BBC Persian.

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“We think it’s illegal,” said Ronald Reagan when Democrats tried to invoke it to block his deployment of the Navy to escort oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in 1987.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal