Wiktionary

مگر

See also: مڪڙ, مكر, and مګر

Pashto

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Persian مگر (“but, yet, however”).

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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مگر • (magar)

  1. Alternative form of مګر

References

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  • “مګر”, in Pashto Dictionary, Peshawar, Pakistan: Pukhtoogle, 2020.

Persian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle Persian 𐭠𐭫 𐭧𐭲 (ʾl ḥt /⁠ma agar⁠/, “perhaps; lest”), from 𐭠𐭫 (ʾl /⁠ma⁠/, “not”) + 𐭧𐭲 (ḥt /⁠agar⁠/, “if”).[1]

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? magar
Dari reading? magar
Iranian reading? magar
Tajik reading? magar

Conjunction

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مَگَر • (magar)

  1. Used to introduce a question to which the opposite answer is expected, or had been previously assumed; expresses surprise or disbelief.
    مگر کتاب را نخواندی؟ (literary)
    magar ketâb râ na-xândi?
    مگه کتاب و نخوندی؟ (colloquial)
    mage ketâb o na-xundi?
    Didn't you read the book? / Oh, you didn't read the book?
    [assuming that the listener did or should have read the book; or, that the speaker had previously thought the listener had read the book]
    مگر غذا می‌خواهی؟ (literary)
    magar ğazâ mi-xâhi?
    مگه غذا می‌خوای؟ (colloquial)
    mage ğazâ mi-xây?
    You don't want food, do you? / I thought you didn’t want food?
    • c. 1075, Abu'l-Fażl Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn Bayhaqī, تاریخ بیهقی [Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī]:
      گفت: مگر گوشت نیافته بودی و نقل که مرا و کدخدایم را بخورید؟
      guft: magar gōšt nayāfta būdī u nuql ki marā u kadxudāyam rā bixwarēd?
      He said, “Had you not found any meat or delicacy, that you had to ‘eat’ [slander] me and my chamberlain?”
      (Classical Persian transliteration)
  2. unless
    من می‌روم مگر او هم برود. (literary)
    man mi-ravam magar u ham beravam.
    من می‌رم مگه اونم برم. (colloquial)
    man mi-ram mage un-am beram.
    I’ll go unless he goes too.
    مگر از روی جنازه من رد بشوی!
    magar az ru-ye jenâze-ye man rad bešavi!
    [Not] unless you cross over my dead body!
  3. Expresses great curiosity or surprise.
    مگه خیلی پول داری! (colloquial)
    mage xeyli pul dâri!
    You have so much money!
  4. (Dari, India) but; however
    Synonyms: ولی (vali), امّا (ammâ)
    ‎برف منظرۀ طبیعت را خیلی زیبا میسازد، مگر هوا را خیلی سرد میسازد. (Dari, more literary)
    barf manzara-yi tabī'at rā xaylē zēbā mēsāzad, magar hawā rā xaylē sard mēsāzad.
    Snow makes the scenery of nature very beautiful, but [it also] makes the air very cold
  5. (archaic) it happened that...; used to introduce a narrative.
  6. (obsolete) as if
    Synonyms: انگار (engâr), گوئی (guyi)
    • 1699, Muḥammad Amīn ibn Mīrzā Muḥammad Zamān Bukhārī, محیط التواریخ [Muḥīṭ al-Tawārīkh]:
      ز دریا مگر بر لب آمد حباب.
      z-i magar bar lab āmad hubāb.
      [It was] as if bubbles were coming from the sea to its lips.

Usage notes

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(unless):

  • In this sense, the hypothetical unless-clause introduced by مگر (magar) must follow the then-clause, unless the then-clause is left implicit. من می‌روم مگر او هم برود (man mi-ravam magar u ham beravam) is possible, but not *مگر او هم برود، من می‌روم (*magar u ham beravam, man mi-ravam)

Derived terms

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Preposition

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مَگَر • (magar)

  1. except; except for
    Synonyms: جز (joz), بجز (bejoz), غیر از (ğeyr az), الّا (ellâ)
    همه بودند مگر علی.
    hame budand magar 'ali.
    Everyone was there except for Ali.

Adverb

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مَگَر • (magar)

  1. (archaic) perhaps; perchance; (in wishes) hopefully
    Synonym: شاید (šâyad)
    • c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 6”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Hafez]‎[2]:
      ز رقیب دیوسیرت به خدای خود پناهم
      مگر آن شهاب ثاقب مددی دهد خدا را
      zi raqîb-i dêv-sîrat ba xudâ-yi xwad panâham
      magar ân šihâb-i sâqib madadê dahad xudâ râ
      From my demon-natured rival, I seek refuge in my Lord;
      By God, may that gleaming flame give [me] a little help [against my rival].
      (romanization in Classical Persian)
  2. (obsolete) surely; certainly; indeed
    • c. 1075, Abu'l-Fażl Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn Bayhaqī, تاریخ بیهقی [Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī]:
      و جواب یافت که چون برفت مگر زشت باشد بازگشتن
      u jawâb yâft ki čôn biraft magar zišt bâšad bâzgaštan.
      And he received the reply that, having left, it would indeed be unseemly for him to return.
      (Classical Persian transliteration)

Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “ma agar”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 53
  2. ^ Farhâdi, Abd-ul-Ghafûr (1955) Le Persan parlé en Afghanistan: Grammaire du Kâboli (in French), Paris: Kliencksieck, pages 69, 137
  3. ^ Андреев, М. С., Пещерева, Е. М. (1957) “magám”, in Ягнобские тексты с приложением ягнобско-русского словаря, составленного М. С. Андреевым, В. А. Лившицем и А. К. Писарчи [Yagnobi Texts with a Yagnobi–Russian Dictionary Compiled by M. S. Andrejev, V. A. Livšic and A. K. Pisarči]‎[1] (in Russian), Moscow and Leningrad: Academy Press, page 283a
  4. ^ Morgenstierne, Georg (1938) Iranian Pamir Languages (Indo-Iranian Frontier Languages), volume II, Oslo: Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning; H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), page 228b

Punjabi

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Etymology

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From Classical Persian مگر (magar).

Conjunction

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مگر • (magar) (Gurmukhi spelling ਮਗਰ)

  1. but

Synonyms

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Sindhi

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Etymology

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From Classical Persian مگر (magar).

Conjunction

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مَگَر • (magar)

  1. but

Urdu

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Classical Persian مگر (magar, “but, unless, perhaps”), from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭫 𐭧𐭲 (ʾl ḥt /⁠ma agar⁠/, “perhaps; lest (lit. not if)”).

Conjunction

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مگر • (magar) (Hindi spelling मगर)

  1. but
  2. however
  3. unless
  4. perhaps
  5. possibly
Synonyms
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Etymology 2

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From Sanskrit मकर (makara).

Noun

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مگر • (magar) m (Hindi spelling मगर)

  1. alligator
  2. crocodile
Synonyms
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