Etymology Explorer › Turkish

Where does “sipahi” come from?

sipahi (Turkish) comes from Ottoman Turkish سپاهی, from Persian سپاهی, from Persian سپاه, from Proto-Iranian *cwáHdah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćwáHdʰaH, from Proto-Indo-European ḱwéh₁-dʰ-o-h₁.

Ancestry of “sipahi”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ottoman Turkishسپاهی—
2Persianسپاهیsoldier; cavalryman; sepoy
3Persianسپاهarmy
4Proto-Iranian*cwáHdah—
5Proto-Indo-Iranian*ćwáHdʰaH—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱwéh₁-dʰ-o-h₁—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱwéh₁-dʰ-o-h₁ →