English words from Persian
5 English words with Persian in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
bazaar
It is borrowed from Italian bazarra, from Persian بازار (bāzār, “market”). The American Heritage Dictionary adds that English also took the word from Urdu بازار (bāzār). Barnhart suggests an…
dervish
It is borrowed from Turkish derviş, from Persian درویش (darvīsh, “poor man, beggar”). It was first spelled dervis; the spelling dervish dates from the mid-19th century.
lacquer
It is borrowed from French lacre (“a kind of sealing wax”), now obsolete, from Portuguese lacre (“sealing wax”), an unexplained variant of laca “lac”, from Arabic لك (lakk), from Persian لاک (lāk)…
lilac
It is borrowed from obsolete French lilac, now lilas, from Arabic ليلك (līlak), from Persian لیلک (līlak), a variant of nīlak “bluish”, from nīl “indigo, blue”, from Sanskrit नील (nīla, “dark…
turban
It is borrowed from Middle French turbant, from Italian turbante (Old Italian tolipante), from Turkish tülbent (“gauze, muslin”), from Persian دلبند (dulband, “turban”). It is the same word as…