nyšʾn'

Middle Persian

Alternative forms

  • 𐫗𐫏𐫢𐫀𐫗 (nyšʾn /⁠nīšān⁠/)

Etymology

    From Proto-Iranian *ni- + Proto-Iranian *yaš- (to show, appear), with further connections outside of Indo-Iranian uncertain. Not from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (to see), despite superficial phonetic and semantic similarity. Compare Sanskrit यक्ष (yakṣa, spiritual apparition).

    Noun

    nyšʾn' • (nīšān)

    1. mark, sign
    2. banner

    Descendants

    • Classical Persian: نِشَان (nišān), نِیشَان (nīšān) (see there for further descendants)

    References

    • MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “nīšān”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press
    • Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 213-214