Meanings
-
1
adj
relating to Iran, especially its Persian people, language, culture, or history
The library displayed an illuminated Persian manuscript.
-
2
noun
a member of the Persian ethnic group, chiefly associated with Iran
A Persian historian translated the inscription for the research team.
-
3
noun
the Iranian language also called Farsi, spoken chiefly in Iran and closely related to Dari and Tajik
She learned Persian in order to read the poetry in its original language.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Through Middle English and French from Medieval Latin Persianus, from Latin Persia and Greek Persis, ultimately from Old Persian Parsa. Persia was the traditional European name for Iran; Persian remains the standard ethnolinguistic and cultural term, while Iranian is the broader national term.