persian

persian — adjective

IPA/ˈpɜː.ʒən/
KK[pˈɚʒən]IPA/ˈpɝː.ʒən/
  • persianpositive
  • more persiancomparative
  • most persiansuperlative

1. connected with Iran or old Persia, including its people, culture, history, or la

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with Iran or old Persia, including its people, culture, history, or language

Example

The chef served Persian rice with fish and fresh herbs.

attributive adjective: Persian + food noun

Blue Persian letters ran around the edge of the bowl.

attributive adjective: Persian + writing noun

Common collocations
  • Persian rice
  • Persian poem
  • Persian history
  • Persian art
  • Persian carpet
Synonyms
  • Iranian

    more usual for the modern country and its citizens; Persian often stresses culture, language, or historical background

  • Iran-related

    a broader modern description, but much less natural in ordinary language

Grammar Patterns

Persian + noun

Usage Note

In modern news writing, Iranian is often preferred for the present-day state and its citizens. Persian is especially common for language, art, food, literature, and history.

Common Mistakes

The menu has Iran rice.
The menu has Persian rice.
before nouns for food, art, history, or language, English uses the adjective 'Persian', not the noun 'Iran'.

persian — noun

IPA/ˈpɜːʃn/
KK[pˈɚʒən]IPA/ˈpɜːrʒn/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

For noun sense 2, Persian is the standard English name for the language spoken in Iran. Farsi is the name many Iranians use in their own language, and it is common in everyday speech, especially when people talk about family background or home life. Some teachers and editors still prefer Persian in formal English because it fits the usual English pattern for language names. Dari and Tajik are closely related national varieties, not simply different casual names for the Iranian standard. A family in Tehran may say they speak Farsi at home, but a university course or dictionary is more likely to call the language Persian.

Persian ↗Farsi ↗Dari ↗Tajik

Etymology

Old PersianGreekLatinEnglish

Persian entered English through Greek and Latin names for Persia, the historical name of the land now centered on Iran. Those older forms go back to Old Persian Parsah, the name of the people and their region. From that base, English developed the adjective and the nouns for the people, the language, and later the cat breed.