خیل

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic خَيْل (ḵayl).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [xajl]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xäjl]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xäjl]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [xäjl]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [xäjl̥]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [xejl̥]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [χäjl]

Readings
Classical reading?	xayl
Dari reading?	xayl
Iranian reading?	xeyl
Tajik reading?	xayl

Noun

Dari	خیل
Iranian Persian
Tajik	хайл

خیل • (xeyl)

1. (historical) horsemen, squadron of cavalry; (by extension) army (in general)
   • c. 1390, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ, “Ghazal 408”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Ḥāfiẓ]‎^[1]:

     صحن سرای دیده بشستم ولی چه سود
     کاین گوشه نیست درخور خیل خیال تو

     sahn-i sarā-yi dīda bišustam walē či sūd
     k-īn gōša nēst darxwar-i xayl-i xayāl-i tu

     I washed the field of my vision's palace [with tears], but what was the use?
     For this corner is unworthy of the army of my fantasies of you!

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Derived terms

• خیلی (xeyli, “very, much, many”)

 

Further reading

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “خیل”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim