Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article provides a brief background on the Persian language and its history, as well as provides a list of easily recognizable Indo-European words in the language and English cognates. These words are a reminder of the shared history of the Indo-European language family, despite several thousand years of geographic separation and independent development.

(1) Two-story arched niches decorated with polychrome glazed tiles enclose the central courtyard, Masjed-e Shāh, Isfahan (c. 1629 A.D.) (2) Interior of the northwestern domed chamber. The surface is completely covered with polychrome majollica tiles depicting floral and vegetal motifs which are a metaphor for the idyllic gardens of Paradise, above a continuous marble dado (3) Details of the northwestern dome, of a smaller scale than the dome of the main sanctuary. Floral and vegetal motifs emanate in a sunburst pattern from a turquoise gem at the apex (4) A woman seated before the massive-scale ayvān to the main chamber (5) Details of polychrome glazed tilework in the corridor connecting the portal ayvān to the courtyard (6) The rear portal to the complex, decorated with a stalactite vault and tiles with floral and geometric designs

A Brief History of the Persian language
Persian (endonym Fārsi, Pārsi; frequently Tājiki in Central Asia and Dari in Afghanistan) is an Indo-European language belonging to the Iranic branch of that family. Of note, it is not related to Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.) or Turkic at any discernible time point. Among its relatives, the Indic branch is genetically closest to Iranic, however, observers are often surprised by the presence of easily recognizable cognates between Persian and the genetically more distant Germanic and Slavic languages (e.g. Persian دختر dokhtar, English daughter; Persian سپاس sepās “thanks”, Russian спасибо spasibo “thank you”). In a manner not dissimilar to that of French in pre-modern Europe, at its zenith, New Persian became a prestige language in a vast zone spanning from the Balkans and Crimea to Western China and Bengal. It was selected as the official court, administrative, educational and diplomatic language by various Islamic dynasties such as the Seljuk, Ottoman, Safavid, Timurid, and Mughal dynasties, and emerged as a global vehicle of high literature, poetry, scholarship and intellectual discourse whose effects are still felt today. Some of the world’s most famous pieces of literature from the Middle Ages, such as the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, the works of Rumi, the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Panj Ganj of Nizami Ganjavi, The Divān of Hafez, The Conference of the Birds by Attar of Nishapur, and the miscellanea of Gulistan and Bustan by Saadi Shirazi, are written in Persian.

Today, it is spoken primarily in Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, however due to prolonged ages of cultural contact, Persian influences form the lion’s share of foreign elements in Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Uyghur, Uzbek, Iraqi and Gulf Arabic dialects, Urdu, Hindi, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Armenian, Georgian, among other languages. Dozens of Persian words reached more distant languages such as Mandarin, Thai, Malay, Swahili, French and Russian through direct historic exchanges. It was indeed the Persian brand of Islam–and Persianized Arabic, or Arabic through the medium of Persians—that evangelized most of the Muslim world (e.g. every Muslim language in Eurasia uses a derivative of the Persian word for “prayer”, نماز namāz, rather than Arabic صلاة ṣalāh, indicating the medium of the religion’s transmission). In the words of the British-American historian Bernard Lewis, “the Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of Vienna.” The role of the Persian language in human history has been colossal yet regrettably unsung.

Iranic and Indic languages share a more recent common ancestor than other branches of Indo-European. According to the Kurgan Hypothesis, the people who spoke this unattested ancestral language, termed Proto-Indo-Iranian, developed along the northeastern edge of the Middle Dnieper culture (3200-2300 BC) in modern-day Ukraine. At the end of that period it is believed they migrated en masse out of the Pontic-Caspian Steppe further east, to Sintashta and its environs, where evidence reveals they engaged in copper mining, bronze metallurgy, and large-scale animal sacrifices. At this point, it appears they called themselves by the ethnonym *Áryas “Aryan; lit. esteemed, noble” (later Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹 (a-r-i-y /ariyaʰ/ → Middle Persian 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭‎ ʾērān, “of the Aryans” → New Persian ایران‎ irān). Over a period of centuries, they gradually migrated southward where they interacted with the sophisticated Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (short BMAC), also known as the Oxus civilization, a non-Indo-European Bronze Age civilization centered around Marv (Margiana) and Balkh (Bactria) which influenced the Indo-Iranians. From the strange-appearing, unknown language of BMAC, the ancient Indo-Iranians adopted multiple words and concepts e.g. Persian šotor > BMAC *uštra ‘camel’; Persian khišt *ištya ‘brick, clay’; Persian nān > BMAC *nagna ‘bread’; Persian pezešk > BMAC *bʰiš- ‘medicine, healing’. Over time the Proto-Iranians split and differentiated from the Proto-Indo-Aryans, who gradually migrated into India, with an offshoot apparently traversing as far as Syria and becoming the masters of the Kingdom of Mitanni. The Proto-Iranians then swept into the Iranian Plateau after 1800 BC through multiple migrations likely spanning centuries. A cohort back-migrated from Khwārazm into the Eurasian steppe and became the Scythians.

(1) A Persian poem inscribed on a band of glazed azure tiles adorns the Kalta Minor in Khiva, Uzbekistan (c. 1851 A.D.) (2) The pictured couplets read: به جنت کرد نادرش عرضه خاک / رسیده چون ستون بر كاخ گردون / ز وصفش قاصر آمد عقل و ادراک / از این در آگهی سال بنایش “be jannat kard nāderash ‘arze-ye ḵāk / Raside chun sotūn bar kāḵ-e gardūn / ze vaṣfash qāṣer āmad ‘aql-o-edrāk / Az in dar āgahi-ye sāl-e banāyash…” (see here for a complete transcription). Persian served as the official, court, literary, high culture and administrative language of the Sāmānid Empire (f. 819 A.D.) and all successive Muslim polities in Central Asia for over a millennium until the region’s incorporation into the U.S.S.R. in 1923.

The Old Persian language is first attested in a cuneiform script in the Achaemenid royal inscriptions of Darius I (ruled 522–486 BC) at Behistun in Kermānshāh, but the language was actually native to Persis (modern Fārs province, Iran). New Persian emerged on paper more than a millennium after Darius’ royal carvings, apparently following a circuitous route first through Mesopotamia (the “Middle Persian” stage) and then Central Asia, after which it “re-entered” the Iranian plateau. In the Old Persian stage, Persian can be seen as a conservative Indo-European language with three grammatical genders, complex noun inflections and a synthetic morphology. Perhaps owing in part to widespread multilingualism and imperfect language acquisition over a short period of time by non-Iranian Achaemenid subjects who were settled in Persis (for example, laborers such as artisans and builders hailing from various regions of the empire commissioned with the construction of large-scale projects at Persepolis and Susa), vernacular Old Persian seems to have experienced a vast grammatical simplification which cannot be attributed alone to regular language transmission from one generation to the next. Moreover when the next stage of the language, Middle Persian, appeared in a modified imperial Aramaic script in epigraphic texts at the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon, it was profoundly different from Old Persian. This literary language, reflecting vernacular developments, lacks grammatical gender and noun declensions altogether, and features an analytic morphology with re-elaborations in place of the inherited Proto-Indo-European forms. This scenario closely parallels the development of Middle English from Old English on the British Isles, over a millennium later.

Later in the Sassanian period, elites from Mesopotamia who presumably spoke vernacular Pārsīk (Middle Persian) settled in the northeast of the empire, particularly in the urban centers of Khorāsān and Transoxiana, where the Middle Persian language took hold at the expense of the local Iranic Parthian and Sogdian languages. The presence of garrisons and state administrators further strengthened Middle Persian in the region. With the conquest of the Sassanian empire by Arab-Islamic troops between 632 and 651 A.D. and the flight of yet more Sassanian aristocrats there, it was these Pārsīk vernaculars that had transplanted from Seleucia-Ctesiphon to Khorāsān and Transoxiana that served as the basis of Muslim (New) Persian. In the centuries thereafter, varieties of the new Islamized Persian language, written in a modified Arabic script, spread back into Iran proper, even Fārs (Persis), where it has coexisted with distantly related vernaculars spoken uninterruptedly since the Middle Iranian stage and escaped Islamization (e.g. Lārestāni; for more, see here). These various Western Iranian languages, akin to Persian, also possess etyma that recall quite distant Indo-European relatives (Māzanderāni mi mar o ti per, Spanish mi madre y tu padre “my mother and your father”).

(1-2) Onlookers behold the colossal statue of King Shapur I (c. 240–272 A.D.), chiseled from a huge stalagmite in situ in the 3rd century A.D., in a cave overlooking a royal Sassanian polo field (čōgān), Kāzerun, Iran. Shapur I is depicted with his idiosyncratic thick, wavy locks and crenellated crown (3) A large relief depicting the triumph of Shapur I over the Roman emperors Valerian and Philip the Arab (genuflected before him), Naqsh-e Rostam, Iran (c. 3rd century A.D.)

A list of Persian words with their Indo-European etymologies and recognizable cognates are listed below. These words are a reminder of the shared history of the Indo-European language family, despite several thousand years of separation and Persian’s development in a diverse geographic milieu surrounded by many non-Indo-European languages into present times.

Word List and Indo-European Etymologies

Abrū “eyebrow”: from Middle Persian (blwk’ /brūg/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *HbʰrúHs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃bʰruH-. Cognates include Northern Kurdish birû, Ossetian ӕрфыг (ærfyg), Sanskrit भ्रू (bhrū), Ancient Greek ὀφρύς (ophrús) English brū > English brow, eyebrow

Ālofte “enamored; confused” (archaic): possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-. If so cognate with English love

Āmixtan “to mix, mingle”: from Middle Persian ʾmyhtn (āmēxtan), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd “to, at” (whence Latin ad) and *meyḱ-, whence also English admix

Andar “in, within”: from Middle Persian 𐭡𐭩𐭭‎ (BYN /andar/), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎫𐎼 (aⁿtar, “among, within”), from Proto-Iranian *Hántarah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hántaras, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros (“inner, what is inside”). Cognate with English enter, inter–

Angusht “finger”: from Middle Persian ʾngwst’ from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hangúštʰas, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng- (“joint”). Related to Latin angulus, English angle

Arg “citadel”: from Middle Persian (arg), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-. Cognates include Old Armenian արգել (argel, “obstacle”) and Ancient Greek ἀρκέω (arkéō), Latin arx (“citadel”)

Arm “upper arm (archaic)”: Middle Persian arm, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *HrHma-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂rH-mo-. Cognate to Sanskrit ईर्म (īrma), Armenian արմունկ (armunk, “elbow”), Latin armus, English arm

Ārugh “belch”: ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewg- (“belch, roar”). Cognate with Latin erugo (“belch”), English eruct

Arre “saw”: from Proto-Indo-European *sers- (“to cut off”). Compare Latin serra “saw”, whence English serrated

Arziz “tin” (archaic): from Middle Persian ʾlcyc (arzīz, “tin, lead”) (Manichaean Middle Persian ʾrzyz). Perhaps ultimately from Proto-Iranian *arjata- (“silver”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erǵ-. Cognate to Greek άργυρος árgyros “silver”, Latin argentum “silver”

Āvāz “voice, sound, echo” and Vāk “voiced” (i.e. pezhvāk “echo”): from Middle Persian ʾwʾz (āwāč, āwāz, “voice, sound, tune”), from 𐭥𐭠𐭰‎ (wāč, wāz, “word, speech”), from Proto-Iranian *wā́xš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wā́kš, from Proto-Indo-European *wōkʷs. Cognate with Sanskrit वाच् (vā́c) and Latin vōx, English voice

Awj (owj) “apex, zenith”: from Arabic أَوْج‎ (ʔawj), from Persian اوگ‎ (owg), from Middle Iranian, ultimately Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg- (“related to increasement”). Cognate with English augment, august

Bāftan “to weave; braid; knit”: from Middle Persian waf– “to weave”, from Proto-Iranian *wabdi, Proto-Indo-Iranian *wabdʰi, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ-. Compare Greek υφαίνω yfaíno “to weave”, English weave, web

Band “band, tie; to close (pres. stem)”: from Proto-Iranian *bandah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰandʰas,  ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-. Cognate with English band, bind

Bandeh “slave”, Bandegi “bondage, slavery”: from Middle Persian bndk’ /bandag/, from Old Persian 𐎲𐎭𐎣 badaka,  ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-. Cognate with English bond, bondage

Barādar “brother”: from Middle Persian (brād, brâdar), from Old Persian 𐎲𐎼𐎠𐎫𐎠 (brātā), from Proto-Iranian *bráHtā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰráHtā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Cognate with English brother

Bār “burden, load; sorrow, grief”: from Middle Persian bʾl (bār, “load, burden; duty; fruit”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰer-. Cognate with English bear, burden

Bimār “sick, ill person”: from Middle Persian 𐭥𐭩𐭬𐭠𐭫‎ (wēmār, “sick, ill”), from Proto-Indo-European *wemh₁- (“to spew, vomit”) + ār (agent suffix). Cognate with Latin vomō (“be sick, vomit”). Cognate with English vomit

Bir “hero, champion”: from Middle Persian wyl (wīr), from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós “man, husband; hero”. Cognate to Lithuanian výras “man”, English wer “man (obsolete)” > werewolf “man-wolf”; Latin vir “man, hero; husband” > English virile “manly”

Bon “bottom, foundation, root”: from Middle Persian bwn’ bun, from Proto-Iranian *buHnáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰudʰnás, from *bʰudʰmḗn. Cognate with English bottom and Latin fundus “bottom” > English foundation

Bordan “to take; to bear, carry”: from Middle Persian bwltn (bortan, “carry, take”), from Proto-Iranian *bárati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰárati, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti. Cognate to Latin ferre, English bear

Boz “goat”: from Proto-Iranian *bujáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰuȷ́ás, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰūǵ-o-s, from *bʰuǵ- (“buck, he-goat”). Cognate with English buck (“male goat”)

Būdan (1) “to be” and Ast (2) “he/she is”: (1) from Middle Persian (būdan, baw-), from Old Persian 𐎲𐎺- (bav-), from Proto-Iranian *báwati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰáwHati, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewH- (“to be, become”), *bʰew- (“to grow”). Cognate with Russian быть bytʹ “to be”, English to be (2) from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭩𐭲𐭩‎ (ast), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎡𐎹 (astiy), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti “to be”. Cognate with Latin est, German ist, English is

Burj “tower; fort, castle”: Arabicized form of Classical Syriac ܒܘܪܓܐ‎ (burgāʾ), from Middle Persian (burg), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“high”), with cognates including Persian برز‎ (borz), Sanskrit बृहत् (bṛhát, “lofty, high, tall”), Old Armenian բարձր (barjr, “high”) and Old English burg

Būs “kiss”: from imitative Proto-Indo-European *bu, compare Latin basium (“kiss”), Welsh bus (“kiss, lip”), and English buss (“kiss”).

Chand “how much, how many”: inherited from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭭𐭣‎ (čand), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷíh₂-onts, from *kʷíh₂, neuter of *kʷís. Cognate with Avestan 𐬗𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬧𐬙‎ (cuuaṇt), Sanskrit कियत् (kiyat), Latin quantus

Chāneh “chin”: from Proto-Iranian *jánukah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰánuš, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (“chin, jaw, cheek”), cognate with English chin

Dādan “to give”: from Old Persian 𐎭𐎭𐎠𐎬𐎢𐎺 (d-d-a-tu-u-v /dadātuv/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dádaHti, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti. Cognates include Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬛𐬁𐬌𐬙𐬌‎ (dadāⁱti), Polish dać, Ancient Greek δίδωμι (dídōmi), Latin dare, datum (lit. “given”) and thereby English data

Dandān “tooth”: from Middle Persian KKA, dnd’n’ /dandān/, “tooth”, from Proto-Iranian *Hdantán-, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hdánts, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts (“tooth”). Cognate with Greek δόντι (dónti), Latin dēns > English dental

Dar “door”: From Middle Persian 𐭡𐭡𐭠‎ dar, “gate, court, palace”, from Old Persian 𐎯𐎺𐎼𐎹𐎠 duvar-, “door, gate”, from Proto-Iranian *dwar-، from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dwar-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer- “gate, door”. Cognate to German Tür, Armenian դուռ (duṙ), Irish doras, English door

Dār “tree, wood”: from Middle Persian (dʾl, “tree, gallows; wood”), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎽𐎢𐎺 (d-a-ru-u-v /dāruv/), from Proto-Iranian *dā́ru, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dāru, from Proto-Indo-European *dóru. Cognate with English tree

Daridan “to ravage, attack, bite”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dar-, from Proto-Indo-European *der-. Cognate with Ancient Greek δέρω (dérō, “I skin, I flay”) and English tear

Din “religion”: from Middle Persian dyn’ /⁠dēn⁠/, from Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎡𐎴 (d-a-i-n /⁠*daina-⁠/, “a religious-informed or conscientious way of life”, already influenced by Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬥𐬁 (daēnā, “religion, vision”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰayHanā- compare Sanskrit ध्यान dhyāna “meditation, contemplation, thought, reflection, especially profound and abstract religious meditation” > Chinese 禅 chán > Japanese 禅 zen > English zen

Div “demon, devil”: from Middle Persian dēw /ŠDYA/, “evil spirit”, from Old Persian 𐎭𐎡𐎺 (daiva-), from Proto-Iranian *daywáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *daywás, from Proto-Indo-European *deywós. Cognate to Latin deus, dīvus and English devil

Do “two”: from Proto-Iranian *dwáH,  from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognate with Spanish dos, English two

Dokhtar “daughter; girl”: from Middle Persian dwhtl /duxtar/, oblique case of dwht’ /duxt/, from Old Persian *𐎯𐎧𐏂𐎡 *duxçī-, from Proto-Iranian *dugdā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰugʰdʰā, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr. Cognate with German Tochter, English daughter

Dord “The sediment settled at the bottom of a container of unfiltered wine; the worst or lower part”: from Proto-Iranian *dr̥ti- “manure, feces”, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰṛ-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreyd– “to have diarrhea”. Cognate with English dirt

Dorugh “lie, deception”: from Middle Persian drōg, from Old Persian 𐎭𐎼𐎢𐎥 drauga, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰráwgʰas, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrówgʰos, from *dʰrewgʰ-. Cognate with German Trug “deception, delusion”, Dutch bedrog “deception, fraud”; Welsh drwg “bad, evil”, English dream (via Proto-Germanic *dʰrowgʰ-mos “falsehood, illusion”)

Doshman “enemy, foe; hostile entity”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dušmánas, from Proto-Indo-European *dusménes. Equivalent to *duš- (“bad”) +‎ *mánah (“mind, thought”). Compare Ancient Greek δυσμενής dusmenḗs “enemy, hostile” and English from cognate Greek components dys– + –manía: dysmania

Doshnām “insult”: from Middle Persian (dwšnʾm /dušnām/), from Proto-Iranian *dušHnā́ma (“insult”), from Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”) + *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). Within Persian, compare دشمن‎ (došman, “enemy”), نام‎ (nâm, “name”). Compare English from cognate Greek components dys– + –nómos: dysnomy, dysnomia

Dūst “friend; liking, pleasure”: from Middle Persian 𐭣𐭥𐭮𐭲𐭩‎ (dwst’ /dōst/), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎢𐏁𐎫𐎠 (d-u-š-t-a /dauštā/), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵews- (“to taste, to try”). Cognates with Sanskrit जुष्ट (juṣṭa), Avestan 𐬰𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬀‎ (zušta), Latin gustus, Spanish gusto

Galū “throat”: from Proto-Indo-European *gʷel- (“throat”). Cognate with Russian глотка (glotka, “throat”) Latin gula (“throat”) and English gullet, glutton 

Garm “warm”: from Proto-Iranian *garmáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gʰarmás, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer- (“to warm, heat”), cognate with Khotanese garma- (“hot”), English warm

Gāv “cow”: from Middle Persian (TWRA /gāw/), from Old Persian𐎥𐎢 (g-u), from Proto-Iranian*gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian*gāuš, from Proto-Indo-European*gʷṓws. Cognate with English cow

Gerd, “round, circular” and Gardidan “to turn, revolve, spin, circulate”: from Proto-Iranian *wart- (“to turn, spin, rotate; to writhe”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert-. Latin vertere (“to turn”), German werden (“to turn (into), become”), English weird

Gerān “expensive; heavy (archaic)”: from Middle Persian glʾn’ (garān), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”). Cognate to Latin gravis (“heavy”), English grave

Gereftan “to grab, grip”: from Middle Persian (/griftan/), from Old Persian [Term?] [Term?] (/grab-/, “to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebh₂- (“to grab, seize”). Cognates include Central Kurdish گرتن‎ (girtin), Baluchi گرگ‎ (girag), Sanskrit गृह्णाति (gṛhṇāti, “he seizes”), Russian гра́бить (grábitʹ), German greifen, and English grab, grip

Haft “seven”: from Middle Persian hp̄t’ haft, “seven”, from Proto-Iranian *haptá, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *saptá, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἑπτά heptá > English hepta-

Ham “same”: from Middle Persian hm (ham, “also, same”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎶 (h-m /ham(a)/, “same, together”), from Proto-Iranian *hamHáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *samHás, from Proto-Indo-European *somHós (“same”). Compare Sanskrit सम (sama), English same

Javān “young”: from Middle Persian (yw’n /ǰuwān/), from Proto-Iranian *HyúHā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *HyúHā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō. Cognate to Latin iuvenis (Italian giovane, French jeune, or Spanish joven) > English juvenile

Javidan “to chew”: from Middle Persian ywtn’ /jūdan/, from Proto-Indo-European*ǵyewh₁-. Cognate with English chew

Joft “pair, couple”: from Middle Persian (ǰuxt /ywht/), from Proto-Iranian *yuxtáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *yuktás, from Proto-Indo-European *yugtós. Cognate with Latin iuxtā, English juxtapose

Istādan “to stand up; to stay”: from Middle Persian (istātan), from Old Persian, from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”). Cognate with English stand

Kal “bald”: from Proto-Indo-European *gelH- (“naked, bald”) or *kl̥H-. Cognate with English callow and Latin calvus

Kāv “concave, hollow”: from Proto-Indo-European *ḱówH-. Cognate with English cave

Kerm “worm”: from Proto-Iranian *kŕ̥miš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷŕ̥mis (“worm”). Cognate with Sanskrit कृमि (kṛ́mi, “worm”), Proto-Slavic *čьrvь (“worm”), Lithuanian kirmìs (“worm”), English worm, wyrm

Khoftan, Khʷāb “sleep, dream”: from Middle Persian 𐭧𐭥𐭠𐭡‎ hwʾb /xvāb/, from Proto-Iranian *hwápati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *swap-, from Proto-Indo-European *swep- “to dream”. Cognate with Greek  Ancient Greek ὕπνος húpnos “sleep”, whence English hypnosis

Kherad “wisdom, intelligence; understanding”: inherited from Middle Persian (hlt /xrat, xrad/, “wisdom, understanding, intelligence”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *krátuš (“intelligence, mental power”), from Proto-Indo-European *krét-us “intelligence, strength”. Cognate with Ancient Greek κρατύς kratús, “strong”, κράτος krátos “strength, power, dominion” > English autocrat, democrat

Khers “bear (animal)”: from Proto-Iranian *Hŕ̥šah (compare Avestan 𐬀𐬭𐬴𐬀‎ (arṣ̌a), Ossetian арс (ars)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hŕ̥ćšas, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos. Cognate to Latin ursus,

Khor “sun”: from Proto-Iranian *húHar, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *súHar, from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥. Cognate with Greek helios, Latin sol

Khūk “pig, hog”: from Middle Persian (HZWLYA) /(hwk’ /hūg/), from Proto-Iranian *huHkáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *suH-, from Proto-Indo-European *suh₂kéh₂, from *suH-. Cognate with English hog

Kord “Kurdish; herder (obsolete)”: from Middle Persian (kwrt /kurd/), assumed from Proto-Indo-European *kerdʰ- (“herd”). Cognate with English herd

Kuh “hill, mountain”: from Middle Persian 𐭪𐭥𐭯 kōf, “hill, mountain”, ultimately from Old Persian 𐎣𐎢𐎳 kaufa, “mountain”, from Proto-Indo-European *kewHp “heap; a hollow”. Cognate with Latin cūpa “tub, cask, vat” > English cup, cupula

Lab “lip, edge”: from Proto-Indo-European *leb-. Cognate with English lip

Lang “lame, crippled”: from Proto-Iranian *langa-, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *langa– “lame”, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₁g– “weak, feeble”. Cognate with Latin languēo “to be faint, weak”, whence English languid “lack of energy, slow; weak or faint from illness or fatigue”

Leng “leg”: from Proto-Indo-European *lekʷs-, *lewks- (“groin”). Cognate with English leg

Lis “lick”: from Proto-Iranian *rijáti, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *riȷ́ʰáti, from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”). Cognate with Latin lingō (“lick”), English lick

Mādar “mother”: from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭠𐭲𐭥‎ (mādar), from Old Persian 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎠 (mātā), from Proto-Iranian *máHtā, rom Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr; compare Armenian մայր (mayr), Italian madre, English mother

Mammeh “breast, boob”: an onomatopoeic baby-talk common in Indo-European languages, ultimately must descend from Proto-Indo-European. Cognate with Ancient Greek μάμμη mámmē, Latin mamma, whence English mammal

Man “I”: from Middle Persian 𐫖𐫗‎ (man, “me (early), I (later)”) from Old Persian 𐎶𐎴 (m-n /mana/, “me”) from Proto-Iranian *máHm from Proto-Indo-Iranian *máHm (“accusative singular of *aȷ́ʰám”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐμέ (emé, “accusative of “ἐγώ””), and Latin me (“accusative of “ego””), English me

Māndan “to remain, to stay”: from Middle Persian KTLWNtn’ māndan, KTLWN mān-, from Old Persian, from Proto-Iranian, from Proto-Indo-European *men- “to stay, stand still”. Cognate with Ancient Greek μένω ménō, “I remain”, Latin maneō “I remain” > remain, maintain

Mard “man” and Mardom “people”: from Middle Persian mlt’ /mard/, GBRA /mard/, from Old Persian 𐎶𐎼𐎫𐎡𐎹 martiya, from Proto-Iranian *mŕ̥tah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mŕ̥tas, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tós (“dead, mortal”), from *mer- (“to die”). Cognate to Latin mortuus > English mortal

Marz “border, delineation”: from Middle Persian (mlc /marz/, “boundary, march; (astronomy) term”), from Proto-Indo-European *merǵ- (“edge, boundary, border”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬰𐬀‎ (mar^əza, “frontier”), Proto-Germanic *markō (> English march), and Latin margo. Akin to English mark, margin

Mey “wine; alcoholic beverage”: from Middle Persian mdy /⁠may⁠/, “wine”, from Old Persian *𐎶𐎯 *m-du /⁠*madu⁠/, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (“honey, mead”). Cognate with Greek μέθη méthi, “drunkenness”; English mead

Mixtan “to urinate”: inherited from Middle Persian myc, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃meyǵʰ. Cognate with English micturate “urinate”

Miyān “middle, center”: from Middle Persian mdyʾn’ (mayān), from Old Persian *madyānaʰ, from Proto-Iranian *mádyānah, composed of *mádyah +‎ *-anah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mádʰyas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos. Cognate with English middle, median

Mordan “to die”: from Middle Persian YMYTWNtn’ (murdan), from Old Persian (mar-), from Proto-Iranian *márti, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *márti, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to die”). Cognate with Latin mortuus, English murder

Mūsh “mouse”: from Middle Persian mwšk’ (mušk, “Mouse, rat”), from Proto-Iranian *múHs, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *múHs, from Proto-Indo-European *muh₂s. Cognate with English mouse

Na or Ne “no”: from Middle Persian 𐭫𐭠 / 𐭭𐭩‎ (nē), from Proto-Iranian *ná, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ná, from Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”). Cognate with English no

Nāf “navel, bellybutton”: from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nebʰ (“navel”). Cognate with English navel

Nām “name”: from Middle Persian ŠM (/nām/), from Old Persian 𐎴𐎠𐎶 (n-a-m /nāma/), from Proto-Iranian *Hnā́ma, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). Cognate with Italian nome, English name

Nar “man, virile”: from Middle Persian 𐭦𐭪𐭫‎ (ZKL), 𐭭𐭫‎ (nl /nar/, “male”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hnā́, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂nḗr. Cognate to Ancient Greek: ἀνήρ anḗr “man”, Proto-Italic *nēr “man” > Oscan: 𐌍𐌉𐌉𐌓 niir “man” and Latin neriōsus “firm, vigorous”, Nerō (personal name; lit. “masculine”)

Nāv “ship”: from Middle Persian nʾw (nāw, “ship”), from Proto-Iranian (compare Ossetian нау (naw) / науӕ (nawæ)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *náHuš, from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us (“boat”) (compare Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), Latin nāvis (“ship”). Cognate with English navy

Naveh “nephew”: from Middle Persian np (nab, “grandson”)، Old Persian 𐎴𐎱𐎠 (napā), from Proto-Iranian *napāth, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *nápāts, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂népōts, *népōts. Cognate with English nephew

Now “new”: from Middle Persian 𐭭𐭥𐭪𐭩‎ (nōg), from Old Persian 𐎴𐎺 (n-v), from Proto-Iranian *náwah, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *néwos. Cognate to Greek νέος (néos), Russian но́вый (nóvyj), Italian nuovo and English new

Nūn (archaic, poetic; more commonly aknūn) “now”: from Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”). Cognate with English now

Ostoxān “bone”: ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ésth₁ (bone). Cognate with Ancient Greek ὀστέον ostéon “bone”, English osteopathic

Pā “foot”: from earlier پای‎ (pây), from Middle Persian (pāy), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎭 pād(a), from Proto-Iranian *pā́dah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pā́ts, from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds (“foot”). Cognate with Spanish pie, Greek: πόδι pódi > English -pod, foot

Pand “advice, counsel, guidance”: from Middle Persian pnd (pand, “path; counsel, advice”) (compare Parthian pnd‎ (pand, “counsel”), pndʾn‎ (pandān, “path”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to go, walk; way, path”). Cognate with Ancient Greek πάτος (pátos), πόντος (póntos), Latin pons “bridge”, English path

*Note archaic Persian meaning “trick, knack” → Arabic fann “art” (Semantic development resembles Ancient Greek τέχνη (tékhnē “cunning, wile”) and Latin ars “cunning, stratagem”) 

Panj “five”: from Middle Persian (pnc /panǰ/), from Proto-Iranian *pánča, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pánča, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe. Cognate with Greek πέντε pénte > English penta-

Par “feather, wing, leaf”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *parnám, from Proto-Indo-European *pornóm (“feather, wing”), from *perH- (“to fly”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀‎ (par^əna, “feather”), Lithuanian spar̃nas (“wing”), Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, “wing, feather”), Albanian fier (“fern”), English fern

Pāre “torn; piece, part, portion (archaic); money (archaic)”: From Middle Persian pʾlk’ pārag⁠, “piece, part, portion”, also meaning “gift, offering, bribe”, from Proto-Iranian *pāraka “piece, part”, from Proto-Iranian *par– “to separate, divide into parts”, from Proto-Indo-European *per– “to sell, exchange”. Cognate with Latin pars “part, portion” > English part, portion

Part “far away, remote”: ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥to-. Cognate with Dutch voort, English forth “away, beyond a certain boundary; forward”

Pas “after, behind; so, therefore”: from Middle Persian 𐭯𐭮‎ (ps /pas/, “then, afterwards, behind”), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎿𐎠 (p-s-a /pasā/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pasčáH, from Proto-Indo-European *pos-(sḱ)-kʷéh₁. Cognate with Latin post “after”, whence Spanish pues, después, English post-, posterior

Pedar “father”: from Middle Persian (pidar), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 (pitā), from Proto-Iranian *pHtā́, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pHtā́, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Cognate with English father

Pesar or Pos (dialectal) “son, boy”: from Middle Persian (BREl) / (pwsl /pusar/, “son”), formed from 𐭡𐭥𐭤‎ (pus [BRE], “son”), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎢𐏂 (p-u-ç /puça/), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂u- “few, little; smallness (semantic development to “small man”). Cognate with Latin paucus “little, small”, puer “boy, lad” > English puerile “childish, silly”

Pol “bridge”: from Middle Persian 𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭫𐭩‎ (puhl, “bridge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”) (compare English ford, German Furt, and Latin portus

Raftan “to go, leave, depart”: from Middle Persian (SGYTWN-tn’ /raftan/, “to move, proceed”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p-. Compare Latin rēpō (“I creep; I crawl”), Latvian rãpât, râpt, Middle High German reben (“to move, steer”), English reptile (lit. “creeper, slinker”)

Rāndan “to ride, steer; to run, manage”: from Proto-Iranian *Har- “to set in motion”, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- “to move, set in motion”. Cognate with English run

Rāst “straight, right”: from Middle Persian rāst, from Old Persian 𐎼𐎠𐎿𐎫 (rāsta, “right”), from Proto-Iranian *Hraštáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hraštás, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵtós (“having moved in a straight line”), from *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, direct”). Cognate with English right

Rombidan “to collapse”: from Proto-Iranian *Hrum-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rew-. Cognate with English ruin.

Sad “hundred”: from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭲‎ (čat, sad), from Old Persian *θata-, from Proto-Iranian *catám, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćatám, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm. Cognates include Latin centum, French cent

Sar “head; topmost part”: from Middle Persian 𐭫𐭥𐭩𐭱𐭤‎ LOYŠE /sar/, from Proto-Iranian *cŕ̥Hah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćŕ̥Has, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-. Cognate with first component of Latin and English cerebrum

Setāre “star”: from Middle Persian (stʾlk’ /stārag/), (stl /star/), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (star-), from Proto-Iranian *Hstā́, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hstā́, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr. Cognate with English star

Sharm “shame”: from Middle Persian 𐭱𐭥𐭬‎ (šarm), from Avestan 𐬟𐬱𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬨𐬀‎ (fšar^əma), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormo- (“suffering, pain”). Cognate with Khotanese (kṣär-, “be ashamed”) and English harm “insult, damage”

Shikastan “to break”: from Middle Persian škastan “to break”, from Proto-Iranian *sčand / *skand– “to break, cleave”, from a blend of Proto-Indo-European *(s)ke(n)dh₂ “to shatter, scatter” and Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- “to split, tear”. Cognate to Greek σχίζω skhízō “to split”, whence English schism, schizophrenia 

Shesh “six”: from Middle Persian (šaš), from Proto-Iranian *šwáš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *šwáćš, from Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs. Cognate with german Sechs, English six

Shūr “salty”: from Parthian 𐫢𐫇𐫡‎ šwr /šōr/; compare with Middle Persian swr /sōr/, perhaps from Proto-Iranian *sauraH “salty”, from Proto-Indo-European *súHros “sour; salty”. Cognate with English sour

Tab “fever”, and Tāb “heat, radiance, illuminating”: from Middle Persian (tp /tab/, “fever”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tépos (“heat, warmth”). Cognate with English tepid

Tāj “crown”: from Arabic تَاج‎ (tāj), from Parthian (tʾg /tāg/, “crown”), attested in 𐫟𐫀𐫡𐫤𐫀𐫃‎ (xʾrtʾg /xārtāg/, “crown of thorns”), from Old Iranian *tāga-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”). Cognate with Latin tegō “cover” (tegaderm), toga “a garment; roof”, English thatch “straw covering”

Tars, tarsidan “fear, terror”: from Middle Persian tlsyt’ (tarsēdan, “fear”), from Proto-Iranian *tr̥ŝáti, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *tr̥sćáti, from Proto-Indo-European *tres-. Cognates include Latin terreō, English terror

To “you”: from Middle Persian 𐭫𐭪‎ (LK /tō/, “you, thou”), from Old Persian (compare 𐎬𐎺𐎶 (tuvam)), from Proto-Iranian *tuHám (compare Northern Kurdish tu, Pashto ته‎ (tə), Avestan 𐬙𐬏𐬨‎ (tūm)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *tuHám, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Cognate with Spanish tu, English thou

Tondar “thunder”; from Middle Persian (tndr /tundar, tundur/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *stánati, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂-. Cognate with with Parthian (tndwr /tandur/), Sogdian (twntr /tundar/), Sanskrit स्तनति (stanati, “to resound; to thunder”) English thunder

Tūdeh “masses, people; heap”: from Proto-Iranian *taw(H)táH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *taw(H)táH (“people, folk, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *tew(H)téh₂ (“people, tribe, men-at-arms”). Cognates include Lithuanian tautà, Welsh tud, Latin tōtus and English total

Vānestan “to conquer, to triumph”: from Middle Persian wānist, wān-, (“to conquer”), from Proto-Iranian *wan– (“to triumph, win”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wan-, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁-. Cognate with Sanskrit वन् van, English win

Vāl “whale (archaic)”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *(s)káras, from Proto-Iranian *(s)káras, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos. Cognate with English whale

Varz “agriculture; craft, trade” and Varzesh “exercise”: from Middle Persian wlc (warz, “work, agriculture”), from Proto-Iranian *warj-, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-. Cognate with English work

Vāy “ woe, alas, oh dear!” From Proto-Iranian *wáy, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wáy, eventually from Proto-Indo-European *wai. Cognate with Latin vae, English woe

Vis “clan”: from Old Persian 𐎻𐎰 viθ- “house(hold), clan, royal court”, from Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- “settle, settlement”. Cognate with Latin vicus “”village, hamlet; neighborhood, quarter” > English vicinity; –wick, -wich (e.g. Warwick, Norwich)

Yūgh “yoke” from earlier جغ‎ (joğ), from Middle Persian ywg (juğ, “yoke”), from Proto-Iranian *yugám, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *yugám, from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm. Cognate with English yoke  

Zan “woman; wife”: from Middle Persian zan, from Proto-Iranian *ǰánHh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ǰánHs, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn. Cognates include Russian жена (žena), Greek γυναίκα (gynaíka), English queen, gynecology

Zānū “knee”: from Proto-Iranian *jā́nu, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ā́nu, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu. Cognate with Latin genū, English knee

Zarmān “decrepit old man; old age” From Middle Persian (zlm’n’ /zarmān/). Cognate with Sanskrit जरिमन् (jariman, “old age, decrepitude”). from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- (“to grow old”), Cognate with English geriatrics

Zesht “ugly, heinous”: from Middle Persian (zyšt’ /zišt/, “hateful, ugly”), a loanword from Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬉𐬱𐬀‎ (zaēša) from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰáyždas, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysd-os, from *ǵʰeysd- (“anger, agitation”). Cognate with Proto-Germanic *gaistaz (“ghost, mind”), English ghost, ghastly

-ande “a suffix that makes agent nouns”: from Middle Persian (-ntk’ /-andag/), from (-nt’ /-and/) +‎ (-k’ /-ag/), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-onts. Cognate to Latin -undus/unda/undum