See also: دولة

Ottoman Turkish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Arabic دَوْلَة (dawla).

Noun

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دولت (devlet) (definite accusative دولتی (devleti), plural دول (düvel))

  1. change; change for the better
  2. prosperity
  3. government
  4. state

Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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Persian

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Persian Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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Borrowed from Arabic دَوْلَة (dawla).

In medieval sources, it most commonly means "fortune" or "stroke of good fortune," especially associated with the ruling monarch. The word now means "state; government" due to metonymy: "the royal fortune" > "the king's dominion" > "the government of the king". Up to the nineteenth century, the ruling state was most often called دولت عالیه (dowlat-e âliyye, literally the sublime fortune [of the king]).

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? dawlat
Dari reading? dawlat
Iranian reading? dowlat
Tajik reading? davlat
  • Audio (Iran):(file)

Noun

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Dari دَوْلَت
Iranian Persian دُوْلَت
Tajik давлат

دُوْلَت (dowlat) (plural دولت‌ها (dowlat-hâ) or دول (doval))

  1. state, government
    کارمند دولتkârmand-e dowlatgovernment employee
    مجلس شورای اسلامی در ایران وظیفه قانون گذاری و نظارت بر دولت را دارد.
    majles-e šowrâ-ye eslâmi dar irân vazife-ye qânun-gozâri va nazârat bar dowlat râ dârad.
    The Islamic Consultative Assembly in Iran has the duties of lawmaking and supervision of the government.
  2. dominion, rulership
  3. (dated, literary) fortune, good fortune
    • early 1000s, ʿUnṣurī, “Panegyric 3”, in دیوان عنصری[2]:
      گفتم او را چه خواهم از ایزد
      گفت عمر دراز و دولت شاب
      guftam ō rā či xwāham az ēzad
      guft umr-i darāz u dawlat-i šāb
      I said to him, "What do you desire from God?"
      He said, "A long life and the fortune of a youth!"
      (Classical romanization)
    • c. 1390, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ, “Ghazal 392”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Ḥāfiẓ]‎[3]:
      دانی که چیست دولت؟ دیدار یار دیدن
      در کوی او گدایی بر خسروی گزیدن
      dānī ki čē-st dawlat? dīdār-i yār dīdan
      dar kōy-i ō gadāyē bar xusrawē guzīdan
      Do you know what fortune is? To see the beloved's face,
      To prefer a beggar in her street to a king of kings.
      (Classical Persian transliteration)
  4. (dated, literary) wealth, (monetary) fortune, prosperity

Usage notes

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  • In contemporary Iranian contexts, the word دولت (dowlat, government) refers to that section of the government presided by the رئیس‌جمهور (ra'is-jomhur, President) and his cabinet. The word حکومت (hokumat, state) refers to the entirety of the governmental apparatus under the supervision of the رهبر (rahbar, Supreme Leader).
  • Note that this usage is quite the opposite of the respective etyma دَوْلة (dawla) and حُكُومة (ḥukūma) in contemporary Arabic.

Descendants

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