گاوسار

Persian

FWOTD – 10 September 2024

Alternative forms

گاوسر (gâvsar)

Etymology

From (gâv, “cow, ox”) +‎ (sâr, variant of (sar, “head”)).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ɡaːw.ˈsaːɾ/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ɡɑːw.sɑ́ːɾ]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ɡɑːw.sɑ́ːɾ]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ɡäw.sɔ́ːɾ]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ɡ̥ɒːv.sɒ́ːɹ]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ɡɔw.sɔ́ɾ]

Readings
Classical reading^?	gāwsār
Dari reading^?	gāwsār
Iranian reading^?	gâvsâr
Tajik reading^?	govsor

Noun

گاوسار • (gâvsâr) (plural گاوسارها)

(historical) mace adorned with the head of an ox
- c. 1011, Abu'l-Qāsim Firdawsī, “The reign of Gushtāsp”, in شاهنامه [Book of Kings]‎^[1]:
  فریدونش را نیز با گاوسار
  بفرمود کردن برانجا نگار
  firēdūn-aš rā nēz bā gāwsār
  bifarmūd kardan bar ānjā nigār
  He ordered that they paint on there
  Fereydun as well, with his ox-headed mace.
  (Classical Persian romanization)

Further reading

Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “گاوسار”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “گاوسار”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press