جاسوس

Arabic

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Syriac ܓܳܫܽܘܫܳܐ (gāšōšā), mixed into the root ج س س (j-s-s), or a phono-semantic matching from Classical Syriac with respect to the Arabic root.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒaː.suːs/

Noun

جَاسُوس • (jāsūs) m (plural جَوَاسِيس (jawāsīs))

1. spy, sleuth

Declension

Declension of noun جَاسُوس (jāsūs)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	جَاسُوس jāsūs	الْجَاسُوس al-jāsūs	جَاسُوس jāsūs
Nominative	جَاسُوسٌ jāsūsun	الْجَاسُوسُ al-jāsūsu	جَاسُوسُ jāsūsu
Accusative	جَاسُوسًا jāsūsan	الْجَاسُوسَ al-jāsūsa	جَاسُوسَ jāsūsa
Genitive	جَاسُوسٍ jāsūsin	الْجَاسُوسِ al-jāsūsi	جَاسُوسِ jāsūsi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	جَاسُوسَيْن jāsūsayn	الْجَاسُوسَيْن al-jāsūsayn	جَاسُوسَيْ jāsūsay
Nominative	جَاسُوسَانِ jāsūsāni	الْجَاسُوسَانِ al-jāsūsāni	جَاسُوسَا jāsūsā
Accusative	جَاسُوسَيْنِ jāsūsayni	الْجَاسُوسَيْنِ al-jāsūsayni	جَاسُوسَيْ jāsūsay
Genitive	جَاسُوسَيْنِ jāsūsayni	الْجَاسُوسَيْنِ al-jāsūsayni	جَاسُوسَيْ jāsūsay
Plural	basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	جَوَاسِيس jawāsīs	الْجَوَاسِيس al-jawāsīs	جَوَاسِيس jawāsīs
Nominative	جَوَاسِيسُ jawāsīsu	الْجَوَاسِيسُ al-jawāsīsu	جَوَاسِيسُ jawāsīsu
Accusative	جَوَاسِيسَ jawāsīsa	الْجَوَاسِيسَ al-jawāsīsa	جَوَاسِيسَ jawāsīsa
Genitive	جَوَاسِيسَ jawāsīsa	الْجَوَاسِيسِ al-jawāsīsi	جَوَاسِيسِ jawāsīsi

Related terms

• تَجَسَّسَ (tajassasa, “spy”, verb)

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: casus
• → Armenian: ջասուս (ǰasus)
• → Northern Kurdish: casûs
• → Persian: جاسوس
  • → Gujarati: જાસૂસ (jāsūs)
  • → Hindustani:

    Hindi: जासूस (jāsūs)

    Urdu: جاسُوس (jāsūs)

  • → Punjabi:

    Gurmukhi script: ਜਾਸੂਸ (jāsūs)

    Shahmukhi script: جاسوس (jāsūs)

• → Swahili: jasusi
• → Ottoman Turkish: جاسوس (câsûs)
  • Turkish: casus
  • → Crimean Tatar: casus
• → Uzbek: josus / жосус (josus)
• → Zazaki: casus

References

• “جاسوس” in Almaany
• “gšwš”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 243
• Freytag, Georg (1830) “جاسوس”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[1] (in Latin), volume 1, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 277
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “جاسوس”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[2], London: Williams & Norgate, page 423
• Shapira, Dan D. Y. (2009) “Irano-Arabica: contamination and popular etymology. Notes on the Persian and Arabic lexicons (with references to Aramaic, Hebrew and Turkic)”, in Христианский Восток – Новая Серия, volume 5 (XI), Moscow: Издательство Российской Академии Наук и Государственного Эрмитажа, page 176

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic جَاسُوس (jāsūs).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɑː.ˈsuːs]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɑː.súːs]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɑː.súːs]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɑː.súːs]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɔː.sús]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɒː.súːs]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɔ.sús]

Readings
Classical reading?	jāsūs
Dari reading?	jāsūs
Iranian reading?	jâsus
Tajik reading?	josus

Noun

Dari	جاسوس
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ҷосус

جاسوس • (jâsus) (plural جواسیس (javâsis) or جاسوسان (jâsusân))

1. spy
   • c. 1670, Ṣāʾib-i Tabrīzī, “Ghazal 74”, in دیوان [Dīvān]‎^[3]:

     نیست از رازِ نهانِ من خبر جاسوس را
     نبضِ من بندِ زبان گردید جالینوس را

     nēst az rāz-i nahān-i man xabar jasūs rā
     nabz-i man band-i zabān gardīd jālīnūs rā

     The spy has no news of my hidden secret;
     My pulse has closed its mouth to Galen.

     (Classical Persian romanization)
     (The second line refers to medieval doctors measuring the pulse of a patient, and also to a common trope where the doctor finds the secret beloved of a lovesick patient by measuring the pulse while speaking the names of various potential beloveds.)

Related terms

• تجسس (tajassos, “espionage”)
• جاسوسی (jâsusi, “espionage”)

 

Descendants

• → Gujarati: જાસૂસ (jāsūs)
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: जासूस (jāsūs)

  Urdu: جاسُوس (jāsūs)

• → Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi script: ਜਾਸੂਸ (jāsūs)

  Shahmukhi script: جاسوس (jāsūs)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian جاسوس (jāsūs), from Arabic جَاسُوس (jāsūs), from Classical Syriac ܓܫܘܫܐ (gāšōšā).

Noun

جاسُوس • (jāsūs) m (Hindi spelling जासूस)

1. spy
   • داؤد اورنگ آبادی (Dāud Auraṅgābādī) :

     دل میں خیالِ یار ہے جاسوس کی نمط
     رکھتا ہوں اس کوں ننگ سوں ناموس کی نمط

     dil mẽ xayāl-e-yār hai jāsūs kī namat
     rakhtā hū̃ is kū̃ naṅg sū̃ nāmūs kī namat

2. detective

Declension

Declension of جاسوس
	singular	plural
direct	جاسوس (jāsūs)	جاسوس (jāsūs)
oblique	جاسوس (jāsūs)	جاسوسوں (jāsūsō̃)
vocative	جاسوس (jāsūs)	جاسوسو (jāsūsō)