Urdu

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Classical Persian میان (miyān, center, (India) lord, sir). First attested as Old Hindi मींयां (mī̃yā̃).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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مِیاں (miyā̃m (Hindi spelling मियाँ)

  1. (honorific, endearing, chiefly men's speech and dated) mister, sir
    کْیا بات کَر رَہے ہو مِیاں؟
    kyā bāt kar rahe ho miyā̃
    What are you talking about, mister?
  2. (polite, chiefly women's speech) husband
    Synonyms: شَوہَر (śauhar), خاونْد (xāvand)
    مِیاں بِیوِیmiyā̃ bīvīhusband and wife
  3. person

Declension

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    Declension of میاں
singular plural
direct مِیاں (miyā̃) مِیاں (miyā̃)
oblique مِیاں (miyā̃) مِیاؤں (miyāõ)
vocative مِیاں (miyā̃) مِیاؤں (miyāõ)

Further reading

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  • میاں”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
  • Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “مياں”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co., page 625
  • میاں”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.
  • Platts, John T. (1884) “ميان”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co., page 1103