آغا
Iraqi Arabic
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish آغا (aġa, “lord”).
Noun
آغا (āḡa) m
- lord, master
- agha, an honorific title of address; Mr., sir
- شلونك آغاتي؟
- šlonak āḡāti?
- How are you Sir?
Ottoman Turkish
Alternative forms
- (provincial) آقا (aka)
Etymology
From Proto-Turkic *āka (“elder (brother)”). Possibly related to Proto-Mongolic *aka (“elder brother”) and Proto-Tungusic *ake (“elder brother”), whence Mongolian ах (ax) and Nanai ага (aga).
Noun
آغا • (ağa)
- lord, master
- eldest brother
- eldest paternal uncle
- head of household
- head male servant
- agha, an honorific title of address; Mr., sir
- agha, a title of various military and civil officers
Descendants
- Turkish: ağa
- → Armenian: աղա (aġa), Աղասի (Aġasi)
- → Bulgarian: ага (aga)
- → Iraqi Arabic: آغا
- → Laz: აღა (ağa)
- → Romanian: agă
References
- Tokat, Feyza (2014) “On the Common Words in Mongolian and the Turkish Dialects in Turkey”, in The Journal of International Social Research (Uluslararası Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi)[1], volume 7, number 32, →ISSN, pages 185-198.
Persian
Alternative forms
- آغای (āġāy)
- (Dari, colloquial) آغه (âġa), آغی (âġay)
- (some senses) آقا (âqâ), آقای (âqây)
Etymology
Borrowed from Turkic. Compare Azerbaijani ağa.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Persian) IPA(key): /ʔaː.ˈɣaː/
- (Dari, formal) IPA(key): [ʔɑː.ɣɑː]
- (Iran, formal) IPA(key): [ʔɒː.ʁɒː]
- (Tajik, formal) IPA(key): [ʔɔ.ʁɔ]
| Readings | |
|---|---|
| Classical reading? | āġā |
| Dari reading? | āġā |
| Iranian reading? | âġâ |
| Tajik reading? | oġo |
- Homophones: آقا (only in Iran)
Noun
آغا • (āġā / âġâ) (Tajik spelling оғо)
- eunuch
- synonym of آقا (âqâ):
- (chiefly Dari, Tajik, often endearing) a term for an older male: grandpa, father, brother
- (usually Iran) lady, madam, Mrs.
- (Hazaragi, endearing) sister
Usage notes
- In Classical Persian the term was chiefly a respectful term used to refer to refer to men. Though the term has shifted somewhat in modern varieties:
- In Iran, it maintained a respectful connotation, but has become the semantically feminine form of آقا (âqâ, “Mr., sir”). However, آقا (âqâ) and آغا (âġâ) are homophones in most Iranian dialects, and are only ever distinguished in writing.
- In other dialects, the term has come to have a somewhat more endearing than respectful connotation; But it typically (but not always) still has a more masculine connotation.
See also
واژِگانِ لَهْجِه‌هایِ فارْسیِ ایرانی بَرایِ خویشاوَنْدانِ نَسَبی
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family member | Standard Iranian Persian | Tehrani dialect | Abadani dialect | Kashani dialect | Shirazi dialect |
| mother | مادر (mâdar) | مامان (mâmân) | ننه (nene) | مامو (mâmo) | |
| grandmother | مادربزرگ (mâdar-bozorg) | مامان‌بزرگ (mâmân-bozorg) | بی‌بی (bi-bi) | ماجون (mâjun) | بی‌بی (bi-bi) |
| father | پدر (pedar) | بابا (bâbâ) | دده (dede) | بابا (bâbâ) | بابو (bâbo) |
| grandfather | پدربزرگ (pedar-bozorg) | بابابزرگ (bâbâbozorg) | بو‌بزرگ (bovobozorg)
آقوبزرگ (âġobozorg) | ||
| sister | خواهر (xâhar) | آبجی (âbji) | دده (dade) | — | آباجی (âbâji) |
| older sister | خواهربزرگ (xâhar-bozorg) | آق‌‌باجی (âġ-bâji) | — | باجی (bâji) | شاباجی (šâbâji) |
| brother | برادر (barâdar) | داداش (dâdâš) | کا (kâ) | وردار (vardâr) | کاکو (kâko)
داچی (dâčči) (younger brother) |
| older brother | برادربزرگ (barâdar-bozorg) | — | آکاکو (âkâko) | ||
| maternal aunt (mother's sister) |
خاله (xâle) | ||||
| maternal uncle (mother's brother) |
دایی (dâyi) | خالو (xâlu) | — | دئی (do'i) | |
| paternal aunt (father's sister) |
عمه (amme) | ||||
| paternal uncle (father's brother) |
عمو (amu) | آمو, عامو (âmu) | — | آمو, عامو (âmu) | |
| Family member | Standard Dari | Kabuli dialect | Hazaragi dialect |
|---|---|---|---|
| mother | مادر (mādar) | ننه (nana) | آبه (āba) |
| grandmother | مادرکلان (mādar-kalān) | بی‌بی (bī-bī) | آجه (āja) بی‌بی (bī-bī) |
| father | پدر (padar) | بابا (bābā) | آته (āta) |
| grandfather | پدرکلان (padar-kalān) | باباجی (bābājī) آغا (āġā) |
بابا (bābā) |
| sister | خواهر (xāhar) | خوار (xwār, xār) | |
| older sister | خواهرکلان (xāhar-kalān) | — | آغا (āġā) باجی (bājī) |
| brother | برادر (barādar) | بیادر (biyādar) | برار (birār) |
| older brother | برادرکلان (barādar-kalān) | لالا (lālā) | |
| maternal aunt (mother's sister) |
خاله (xāla) | ||
| maternal uncle (mother's brother) |
ماما (māmā) | ماما (māmā) تغایی (taġāyī) | |
| paternal aunt (father's sister) |
عمه (amma) | ||
| paternal uncle (father's brother) |
کاکا (kākā) | ||
- When referring to older family members, both بزرگ (buzurg) and کلان (kalān) are correct, but the latter is more common in Afghanistan.
- In many dialects, cases of word final ـا (-ā) may be optionally shortened to ـه (-a), e.g. بابا (bābā) > بابه (bāba).
- In many dialects, terms ending in ـه (-a) or ـا (-ā) may have an epenthetic ـی (-y) added (unrelated to ezafe), e.g. عمه (amma) > عمی (ammay).
Further reading
- Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “آغا”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
- “آغا”, in قاموس کبیر افغانستان [qāmūs-i kabīr-i afġānistān, The Great Dictionary of Afghanistan] (in Persian), Afghan Dictionary, 2023
- Malistani, Tariq (1993) “آغا”, in فرهنگ ابتدائی ملی هزاره [farhang-i ibtidā'ī millī-yi hazāra][2] (PDF), SIL International
Urdu
Alternative forms
- آقا (āqā)
Etymology
From Classical Persian آغا (āġā), from Turkic. Compare Turkish ağa and Bengali আগা (aga).
Pronunciation
- (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /ɑː.ɣɑː/
- Rhymes: -ɑː
Noun
آغا • (āġā) m (Hindi spelling आग़ा)