ارغوان
Persian
Alternative forms
- (from Arabic) ارجوان (arjavân, orjovân)
Etymology
From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (ʾlgwkʾn' /argawān/, “purple”), ultimately from Akkadian 𒋠𒍝𒆳𒋛𒀀 (argawannu, “red purple”), probably via Aramaic, cf. Classical Syriac ܐܪܓܘܢܐ (ʾargəwānā). A Wanderwort in the Middle East: Biblical Hebrew אַרְגְּוָן (ʾargɔmɔn, “purple”), Arabic أَرْجُوَان (ʔarjuwān, “purple; redbud; amethyst”).
Pronunciation
Audio (Iran): (file)
| Dari | ارغوان |
|---|---|
| Iranian Persian | |
| Tajik | арғувон, арғавон |
- (Classical Persian) IPA(key): /ʔaɾ.ɣa.ˈwaːn/, /ʔaɾ.ɣu.ˈwaːn/
- (Dari, formal) IPA(key): [ʔäɾ.ɣä.wɑːn], [ʔäɾ.ɣʊ.wɑːn]
- (Iran, formal) IPA(key): [ʔæɹ.ɢæ.vɒːn], [ʔæɹ.ɢo.vɒːn]
- (Tajik, formal) IPA(key): [ʔäɾ.ʁä.vɔn], [ʔäɾ.ʁu.vɔn]
| Readings | |
|---|---|
| Classical reading? | arġawān, arġuwān |
| Dari reading? | arġawān, arġuwān |
| Iranian reading? | arġavân, arġovân |
| Tajik reading? | arġavon, arġuvon |
Audio (Iran): (file)
Noun
ارغوان • (arġavân or arġovân)
- purple color; dark magenta color
- Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) or its flower
- c. 1390, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ, “Ghazal 14”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Ḥāfiẓ][1]:
- مینماید عکسِ مِی، در رنگِ رویِ مه وشت
همچو برگِ ارغوان بر صفحهٔ نسرین، غریب- mê-namâyad aks-i may, dar rang-e rôy-i mah waš-at
hamčô barg-i arġawân bar safha-yi nasrîn, ġarîb - The wine's reflection shows in the color of your moon-like face
Like a Judas tree petal on the face of a wild rose: how strange!
- mê-namâyad aks-i may, dar rang-e rôy-i mah waš-at
Derived terms
- ارغوانی (arġavâni, “purple”)
Descendants
- → Azerbaijani: ərqəvan
- → Georgian: არღავანი (arɣavani)
- → Gujarati: અરગવાની (aragvānī)
- → Hindustani:
- → Hindi: अर्ग़वान (arġavān)
- → Urdu: ارغوان
- → Kurdish:
- → Northern Kurdish: erxewan (“purple; Judas tree”)
- → Central Kurdish: ئەرخەوان (erxewan, “purple; Judas tree”)
- → Middle Armenian: եղրեւանի (eġrewani, “lilac”)
- Armenian: եղրեւանի (eġrewani)
- → Ottoman Turkish: ارغوان (ergavân, erguvân)
- → Pashto: ارغوان (arğawān, “red-purple; a plant”)
Proper noun
ارغوان • (arġavân)
- a female given name, Arghavan or Arghawan, from Middle Persian
References
- Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “ارغوان”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
- MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “argawān”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press
- Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (2000) “aragamannu”, in A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, via the electronic Babylonian Library
- Itamar Singer, "Purple-Dyers in Lazpa", Tel Aviv University