Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Persian” come from?

Persian comes from Middle English percynne, from Middle French persien, from Italian persiano, from Medieval Latin Persianus, from Latin Persia, from Ancient Greek Περσίς, from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿.

Persian (English): The Persian language, or a family of languages...

Definitions

  1. The Persian language, or a family of languages...

Ancestry of “Persian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpercynne—
2Middle Frenchpersien—
3ItalianpersianoPersian, Iranian; Persian; The fur of the karakul
4Medieval LatinPersianus—
5LatinPersiaPersia
6LatinPersaA Persian
7Ancient GreekΠερσίςPersian; a female Persian
8Old Persian𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿a Persian
9Proto-Iranianpárcušrib
10Proto-Indo-Iranianpárćušrib
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpérḱuschest; rib

Words derived from “Persian”

  • Persic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pérḱus →