کنیز

Persian

Etymology

A variant of کنیزک (kanizak), from Middle Persian [script needed] (knyck' /⁠kanīzag⁠/), diminutive of [script needed] (knyk' /⁠kanīg⁠/, “maid”) from Proto-Iranian *kanyáH (“small girl; maiden”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kanyáH. Cognate with Sanskrit कन्या (kanyā).

Noun

کنیز • (kaniz)

  1. maidservant

Descendants

  • → Gujarati: કનીઝ (kanījh)
  • → Hindustani:
    Hindi: कनीज़ (kanīz)
    Urdu: کنیز (kanīz)
  • → Punjabi:
    Gurmukhi script: ਕਨੀਜ਼ (kanīz)
    Shahmukhi script: کَنیز (kanez)
  • → Southern Kurdish: کەنیژ (kenîj, “maidservant”)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian کنیز (kaniz), from Proto-Iranian *kanyáH (“small girl; maiden”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kanyáH. Doublet of کنّیا (kannayā).

Pronunciation

Noun

کَنِیز • (kanīz) f (Hindi spelling कनीज़)

  1. maid, slave-girl
    Synonyms: لونڈی (launḍī), باندی (bāndī)

Declension

Declension of کنیز
singular plural
direct کنیز (kanīz) کنیزیں (kanīzẽ)
oblique کنیز (kanīz) کنیزوں (kanīzõ)
vocative کنیز (kanīz) کنیزو (kanīzo)

References

  • “کنیز”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
  • “کنیز”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
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