ਮੀਆਂ

Punjabi

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian میان (miyân). Doublet of ਮਾਝ (mājh), ਮਾਝਾ (mājhā), ਮੈਦਾਨ (maidān), and ਮਦਾਨ (madān). These terms are all ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mádʰyas (“middle”), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”).

The sound change of this word, which is of Persian origin, is unusually similar to those of ਨਾਂ (nā̃) and ਨਿਆਂ (niā̃), which are words of Sanskrit origin.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈmiː.jä̃ː]

Noun

ਮੀਆਂ • (mīā̃) f (Shahmukhi spelling میاں)

  1. middle, midst
  2. sheath

Noun

ਮੀਆਂ • (mīā̃) m (Shahmukhi spelling میاں)

  1. husband
    Coordinate term: ਬੀਬੀ (bībī)
  2. father
  3. Muslim teacher
  4. (historical) Mian
  5. a term of respect affixed to names

Derived terms

  • ਮੀਆਂ ਬੀਬੀ m pl (mīā̃ bībī, “husband and wife”)
  • ਮੀਆਂ ਸਿੱਠੂ (mīā̃ siṭṭhū, “talkative”, adjective)

Further reading

  • “ਮੀਆਂ”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2025
  • Singh, Bhai Maya (1895) “ਮੀਆਂ”, in The Panjabi Dictionary, Lahore: Munshi Gulab Singh and Sons.
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