لیلی

Persian

Etymology

    Borrowed from Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā). Leylī or Laylī is a spelling pronunciation. The original Arabic pronunciation is now written لیلا (leylâ).

    Pronunciation

    Readings
    Classical reading? laylā
    Dari reading? laylī
    Iranian reading? leyli
    Tajik reading? layli

    Proper noun

    Dari لیلی
    Iranian Persian
    Tajik Лайлӣ

    لیلی • (leyli)

    1. a female given name from Arabic
      1. The heroine of the romance Layla and Majnun.

    See also

    Protagonists of Persian romances

    Urdu

    Etymology

      Borrowed from Classical Persian لَیلیٰ (laylā), from Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā). First attested in c. 1564 as Middle Hindi لیلیٰ (lyly /⁠lailā⁠/).[1]

      Pronunciation

      • (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /lɛː.lɑː/
      • Rhymes: -ɑː
      • Hyphenation: لَی‧لیٰ

      Proper noun

      لَیلیٰ • (lailāf (Hindi spelling लैला)

      1. a female given name, Layla or Laila, equivalent to English Leila
        1. (fiction) Layla al-Aamiriya (the heroine of the romance Layla and Majnun.)

      Adjective

      لَیلیٰ • (lailā) (indeclinable, Hindi spelling लैला)

      1. dusky, dark (of skin)

      Noun

      لَیلیٰ • (lailāf (Hindi spelling लैला)

      1. Juliet (a woman who is with a great lover.)

      References

      1. ^ لیلی”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.

      Further reading

      • Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “لیلی”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co., page 554
      • لیلی”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
      • John Shakespear (1834) “لیلی”, in A dictionary, Hindustani and English: with a copious index, fitting the work to serve, also, as a dictionary of English and Hindustani, 3rd edition, London: J.L. Cox and Son, →OCLC