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

“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

"Our main difficulty was the lack of educational resources" in English and Persian, he said.

Read more on Barron's

The Persian Gulf monarchies aren’t traditionally known for moving fast and breaking things, at least in the advanced technology sphere.

Read more on Barron's

According to the authors, the interaction between rivers, tides, and shifting sediments at the northern edge of the Persian Gulf played a defining role in shaping the world's first urban centers.

Read more on Science Daily

The directive designates Turks as the “original” people of modern-day Turkey, which has been inhabited by successions of people throughout history—including Hurrians, Greeks, Armenians, Persians and Kurds.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal