Where does “persian” come from?
persian (English) comes from Middle English Persien, from Middle French persien, from Italian persiano, from Medieval Latin Persianus, from Latin Persia, from Latin Persa, from Ancient Greek Περσίς, from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 — chest; rib.
Ancestry of “persian”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Persien | — |
| 2 | Middle French | persien | — |
| 3 | Italian | persiano | Persian, Iranian; Persian; The fur of the karakul |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | Persianus | — |
| 5 | Latin | Persia | Persia |
| 6 | Latin | Persa | A Persian |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | Περσίς | Persian; a female Persian |
| 8 | Old Persian | 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 | a Persian |
| 9 | Proto-Iranian | párcuš | rib |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | párćuš | rib |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pérḱus | chest; rib |