ارغوان

Persian

Alternative forms

• (from Arabic) ارجوان (arjavân, orjovân)

Etymology

From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (ʾlgwkʾn' /⁠argawān⁠/, “purple”), ultimately from Akkadian 𒋠𒍝𒆳𒋛𒀀 (argawannu, “red purple”), probably via Aramaic, cf. Classical Syriac ܐܪܓܘܢܐ (ʾargəwānā). A Wanderwort in the Middle East: Biblical Hebrew אַרְגְּוָן (ʾargɔmɔn, “purple”), Arabic أَرْجُوَان (ʔarjuwān, “purple; redbud; amethyst”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

Dari	ارغوان
Iranian Persian
Tajik	арғувон, арғавон

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʔaɾ.ɣa.wɑːn], [ʔaɾ.ɣu.wɑːn]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäɾ.ɣä.wɑːn], [ʔäɾ.ɣʊ.wɑːn]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäɾ.ɣä.wɑːn], [ʔäɾ.ɣʊ.wɑːn]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔäɾ.ɣä.wɑːn], [ʔäɾ.ɣʊ.wɑːn]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔäɾ.ɣä.wɔːn], [ʔäɾ.ɣu.wɔːn]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔæɹ.ɢæ.vɒːn], [ʔæɹ.ɢo.vɒːn]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäɾ.ʁä.vɔn], [ʔäɾ.ʁu.vɔn]

Readings
Classical reading?	arğawān, arğuwān
Dari reading?	arğawān, arğuwān
Iranian reading?	arğavân, arğovân
Tajik reading?	arġavon, arġuvon

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

Noun

Judas tree

ارغوان • (arğavân or arğovân)

1. purple color; dark magenta color
2. Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) or its flower
   • c. 1390, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ, “Ghazal 14”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Ḥāfiẓ]‎^[1]:

     می‌نماید عکسِ مِی، در رنگِ رویِ مه وشت
     همچو برگِ ارغوان بر صفحهٔ نسرین، غریب

     mê-namâyad aks-i may, dar rang-e rôy-i mah waš-at
     hamčô barg-i arğawân bar safha-yi nasrîn, ğarîb

     The wine's reflection shows in the color of your moon-like face
     Like a Judas tree petal on the face of a wild rose: how strange!

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Derived terms

• ارغوانی (arğavâni, “purple”)

 

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: ərqəvan
• → Georgian: არღავანი (arɣavani)
• → Gujarati: અરગવાની (aragvānī)
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: अर्गवान (argavān)

  Urdu: ارغوان (arghavān)

• → Kurdish:
  • → Northern Kurdish: erxewan (“purple; Judas tree”)
  • → Central Kurdish: ئەرخەوان (erxewan, “purple; Judas tree”)
• → Middle Armenian: եղրեւանի (eġrewani, “lilac”)
  • Armenian: եղրեւանի (eġrewani)
• → Ottoman Turkish: ارغوان (ergavân, erguvân)
  • Turkish: erguvan
  • → Albanian: jargavan
  • → Hungarian: orgovány
  • → Romanian: iergovan, iorgovan
  • → Serbo-Croatian: jȍrgovān / јо̏ргова̄н (“lilac”)
  • → Slovak: orgován (“lilac”)
• → Pashto: ارغوان (arğawān, “red-purple; a plant”)

Proper noun

ارغوان • (arğavân)

1. a female given name, Arghavan or Arghawan, from Middle Persian

References

• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “ارغوان”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “argawān”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press
• Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (2000) “aragamannu”, in A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag
• Itamar Singer, "Purple-Dyers in Lazpa", Tel Aviv University