سبز

See also: سپر, ستر, and شتر

Persian

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سبز

An Iranian woman in a سبز (sabz) hijab.

Etymology

From Middle Persian spz, sbz (sabz, “green, fresh”), of uncertain origin.

Morgenstierne derives the word from an unattested form [script needed] (*sapači-) and connects it, along with Pashto سابه (sābə́, “vegetables, greens”), to Ancient Greek κῆπος (kêpos, “garden”).

Henning is skeptical of this, however, and relates the word to Parthian [script needed] (‘spyxt, “radiant, verdant”), deriving both from Proto-Iranian *(H)spar(H)- (“to sprout, bloom, blossom”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pregʰ- (“to scatter, to jerk”); compare Latin spargō (“to scatter, strew”), Old Irish arg (“a drop”), Lithuanian sprogti (“a bud, a shoot”), Northern Sami sprygg (“active, brisk”), Old Norse freknur (“speckles”) (whence English freckle), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬀-𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬈𐬔𐬀 (fra-sparega, “twig, branch, something jerked off of a tree”), Sanskrit पर्जन्य (parjanya, “rain god, rain”).

Cheung does not consider Parthian [script needed] (‘spyxt) to be descended from Proto-Iranian *(H)spar(H)-, and instead derives it from Proto-Iranian *spaič / *spaiĵ (“to shine; to bloom”), which appears to be an exclusively Iranian root.

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [saβz]

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [säbz]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [säbz]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [säbz]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [sæbz]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [säbz]

Readings
Classical reading^?	saḇz
Dari reading^?	sabz
Iranian reading^?	sabz
Tajik reading^?	sabz


Iranian Persian	سبز
Dari	سبز
Tajik	сабз

Noun

سبز • (sabz) (plural سبزها (sabz-hâ))

green

Adjective

سبز • (sabz)

green

Related terms

سبزه (sabze)
سبزی (sabzi)

Descendants

→ Assamese: সেউজ (xeuz)
→ Bengali: সবুজ (śobuj)
→ Hindi: सब्ज़ (sabz)
→ Urdu: سبز (sabz)
→ Odia: ସବୁଜ (sabuja)
→ Punjabi: ਸਬਜ਼ (sabaz)

Colors in Persian · رَنْگ‌هَا (rang-hâ) (layout · text)
سِفید (sefid)	خَاکِسْتَری (xâkestari), توسی (tusi)	سِیَاه (siyâh), مِشْکی (meški)
سُرْخ (sorx), قِرْمِز (ğermez); زِرِشْکی (zereški)	نَارِنْجی (nârenji); قَهْوِه‌ای (ğahve-i), بور (bur)	زَرْد (zard); کِرِم (kerem)
سَبْزِ لیمویی (sabz-e limuyi)	سَبْز (sabz)
آبیِ دَرْیَایی (âbi-ye daryâyi); سَبْزِ دودی (sabz-e dudi), فیروزِه‌ای (firuze-i)	لَاجْوَرْدی (lâjvardi)	آبی (âbi), سُرْمِه‌ای (sorme-i)
بَنَفْش (banafš); نیلی (nili)	سُرْخَابی (sorxâbi); اَرْغَوَانی (arğavâni)	صورَتی (surati)

Colors, Dari Persian

Colors in Persian · رَنْگ‌هَا (rang-hā) (layout · text)
سَفید (safēd)	خَاکِسْتَرِی (xākistarī), فولَادِی (fōlādī)	سِیَاه (siyāh), مُشْکِی (muškī)
سُرْخ (surx); قِرْمِزِی (qirmizī)	نَارَنْجِی (nāranjī); نَسْوَارِی (naswārī), بور (bōr), قَهْوَه‌یِی (qahwa-yī)	زَرْد (zard); کِرِیمِی (kirīmī)
سَبْزِ لِیمُویِی (sabz-i līmūyī)	سَبْز (sabz)	سَبْزِ آبِی (sabz-i ābī)
آبِیِ دَرْیَایِی (ābī-yi daryāyī); سَبْزِ دُودِی (sabz-i dūdī), فیروزَه‌یِی (fērōza-yī)	آسْمَانِی (āsmānī)	آبِی (ābī), آبِیِ تِیرَه (ābī-yi tīra)
بِنَفْش (binafš); نِیلِی (nīlī)	سُرْخَابِی (surxābī); اَرْغَوَانِی (arğawānī), بَانْجَانِی (bānjānī)	گُلَابِی (gulābī)

References

Morgenstierne, Georg (1927) An Etymological Vocabulary of Pashto (Skrifter utgitt av det Norske Videnskapsakademi i Oslo; 3), Oslo: J. Dybwad, page 66
Henning, Walter (1947) “Two Manichaen Magical Texts with an Excursus on the Parthian Ending -endeh”, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, volume 12, number 1, Cambridge University Press, pages 46-47
Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 198-199; 350

Urdu

سبز (sabz) greenery and background of the star and crescent symbol on the train.

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian (sabz), itself from Middle Persian spz, sbz (sabz, “green, fresh”). Compare Kashmiri سَبٕز (sabụz).

Pronunciation

(Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /səbz/

Adjective

سبز • (sabz) (Hindi spelling सब्ज़)

Synonyms

ہرا (harā)

Related terms

سبزی (sabzī)