Etymology Explorer › Persian

Where does “شاهان‌شاه” come from?

شاهان‌شاه (Persian) comes from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠𐭭 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠, from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠, from Old Persian 𐏋, from Proto-Iranian xšáyati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian kšáyati, from Proto-Indo-European teḱ- — to sire, beget.

Ancestry of “شاهان‌شاه”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Persian𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠𐭭 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠king of kings, shahanshah
2Middle Persian𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠king
3Old Persian𐏋king
4Proto-Iranianxšáyati—
5Proto-Indo-Iraniankšáyatihe rules, he has power over
6Proto-Indo-Europeanteḱ-to sire, beget

Words derived from “شاهان‌شاه”

  • shahanshah
  • շահնշահ
  • شاهنشاه
  • շահնշահ
Every word from Proto-Indo-European teḱ- →