Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Pahlavi” come from?

Pahlavi comes from Persian پهلوی, derived from Middle Persian 𐫛𐫍𐫓𐫇𐫀𐫗𐫏𐫃, a term of uncertain original meaning.

Ancestry of “Pahlavi”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Persianپهلویearlier, older
2Middle Persian𐫛𐫍𐫓𐫇𐫀𐫗𐫏𐫃—
3Old Persian𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺Parthia
Every word from Old Persian 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 →