wnpšk'

Middle Persian

Alternative forms

[script needed] (vanafša)

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.

Bailey derives from the Iranian colour-name *van- (“blue”), comparing for it Khotanese [script needed] (banāte, “plum or pear”), Old English ƿann (“dark”) and Old Armenian վան- (van-, “crystal”). For the suffix -ap- he compares Latin cannabis.

On the other hand, Martirosyan proposes connection with Ancient Greek ἴον (íon, “violet”), earlier *ϝίον (*wíon), γία (gía, “ἄνθη”) = ϝία (wía), and Latin viola (“violet”), suggesting that "we might be dealing with a Mediterranean-Iranian flower-name" with a proto-form like *wion- which might yield Iranian *v(y)an-. He regards Iranian *-afš as a suffix of substrate origin comparable with -աւշ (-awš) in Old Armenian թեղաւշ (tʻeławš).

Some of the descendants (e.g. Old Armenian մանուշակ (manušak)) presuppose a by-form *manafšak.

Noun

wnpšk' • (wanafšag)

violet (flower)

Descendants

(Taking Middle Persian as representative for all Middle Iranian and including the descendants of the unattested by-form *manafšak:)

Mazanderani ونوشه (vanūše)
Persian: بنفشه (banafše)
- → Avar: мана́рша (manárša)
- → Azerbaijani: bənövşə
- → Bashkir: миләүшә (miləwşə)
- → Bengali: গুলবনফ্‌শা (gulbonoph‌śa)
- → Central Iranian dialects:
  - Gazi: benapše
  - Kafruni: benewše
  - Kasha’i: benafša
  - Qohrudi: benawša
  - Sivandi: benafše
  - Vonishuni: benafša
  - Zefra’i: bönowše
- → Gujarati: બનફશા (banaphśā)
- → Hindustani:
  - Hindi: बनफ़्शा (banafśā)
  - Urdu: بنفشہ (banafša)
- → Kurdish:
  Northern Kurdish: binefş, benefş, binevş
- → Lak: банавша (banawša)
- → Lezgi: бене́вша (benévša)
- → Ottoman Turkish: بنفشه (benefşe), منكشه (menekşe), منوشه (menevşe)
  - Turkish: menekşe
  - → Albanian: menekshe
  - → Armenian: մէնէքշէ (mēnēkʻšē)
  - → Bulgarian: менекше́ (menekšé), мана́кше (manákše)
  - → Greek: μενεξές (menexés)
  - → Middle Armenian: մանօշայ (manōšay)
  - → Romanian: micșunea
  - → Serbo-Croatian: менѐкше, менѐкша, менѐвша, меневиш
- → Sangisari: benafše
- → Sarikoli: [script needed] (banafša)
- → Sedehi: benafše
- → Shahmirzadi: [script needed] (benafše)
- → Tabasaran: беневша (benevša), бене́ш (benéš), бене́вш (benévš), бала́вш (balávš)
- → Wakhi: [script needed] (banāfš)
- → Uzbek: binafsha
→ Arabic: بنفسج (banafsaj),^[1] بنفشج (banafšaj), منفشج (manafšaj)
- Andalusian Arabic: بنفسج (banafsaj)^[1]
→ Classical Syriac: ܡܢܝܫܟܐ (mənīškāʼ)
- Middle Armenian: մանիշակ (manišak), մանեմշակ (manemšak)
  - Armenian: մանիշակ (manišak)
    - → Turkish: manişak — Trabzon
→ Old Armenian: մանուշակ (manušak)
- Middle Armenian: մանուշակ (manušak)
  - Armenian: մանուշակ (manušak)
    - → Udi: мамушӏакӏ (mamuš:aḳ), мумушӏакӏ (mumuš:aḳ)
  - → Byzantine Greek: μανουσιάκων (manousiákōn)
    - Greek: μανουσάκι (manousáki)
      - → Albanian: manushaqe
        → Aromanian: manushachi / manushache
    - Pontic Greek: μανουσ̌άκ’ (manoušák’)
      - → Turkish: manuşak — Trabzon
- → Ossetian: ма́лусӕг (málusæg, “snowdrop”)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 علی صیادانی، وام‌واژه‌های فارسی دیوان ابن هانی؛ شاعر شیعه اندلس, پژوهش‌های زبان‌شناسی تطبیقی، ص ۱۵۵

Horn, Paul (1893) Grundriss der neupersischen Etymologie (in German), Strasbourg: K.J. Trübner, page 53
Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1977) “մանուշակ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume III, Yerevan: University Press, page 256
MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 86
Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 759
Cabolov, R. L. (2001) Etimologičeskij slovarʹ kurdskovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Kurdish Language] (in Russian), volume I, Moscow: Russian Academy Press Vostochnaya Literatura, pages 115, 180
Bailey, H. W. (1979) Dictionary of Khotan Saka, Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University press, page 268b
Abajev, V. I. (1973) Историко-этимологический словарь осетинского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] (in Russian), volume II, Moscow and Leningrad: Academy Press, page 69

[Sayyadani-1] 1.0 ^1.1 علی صیادانی، وام‌واژه‌های فارسی دیوان ابن هانی؛ شاعر شیعه اندلس, پژوهش‌های زبان‌شناسی تطبیقی، ص ۱۵۵

[1]