نیام

See also: نيام

Persian

Etymology

Inherited from Middle Persian 𐫗𐫏𐫏𐫀𐫖 (nyyʾm), 𐫗𐫏𐫀𐫖 (nyʾm /⁠niyām⁠/). Based on an Old Persian *nidāmān- (“covering, envelope”).

Cognate to Wakhi [script needed] (naẟün, “scabbard”) and Sanskrit निधानम् (nidhānam, “act of laying down, depositing, deposit; keeping; preserving; place where something is deposited or kept, receptacle”).

Also borrowed into Biblical Hebrew נָדָן (nāḏā́n) found in the Tanakh only in 1 Chronicles 21, 27 and into Biblical Aramaic, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, Jewish Literary Aramaic, נִידְנַה (niḏnā), נִדְנַה (niḏnā), נִדְנָא (niḏnā), נְדָנָא (nəḏānā), לדְנָא (liḏnā), לְדָנָא (ləḏānā), later contaminated Classical Syriac ܢܺܝܡܳܐ (nīmā, “sheath”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ni.ˈjɑːm]

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ni.jɑ́ːm]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ni.jɑ́ːm]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ni.jɔ́ːm]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ni.jɒ́ːm]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ni.jɔ́m]

Readings
Classical reading^?	niyām
Dari reading^?	niyām
Iranian reading^?	niyâm
Tajik reading^?	niyom

Noun


Iranian Persian	نِیام
Dari	نِیام
Tajik	ниём

نیام • (niyâm)

sheath, scabbard
- Synonym: غلاف (ğelâf)
- c. 1649, Ṣāʾib-i Tabrīzī, “On the conquest of Qandahār and praise of Shah ʿAbbās II”, in دیوان [Dīvān]‎^[1]:
  آری چو آفتاب کشد تیغ از نیام
  اول زند به قلب شب تیره روزگار
  ārē čū āftāb kašad tēğ az niyām
  awwal zanad ba qalb-i šab-i tīra rōzgār
  Yes, when the sun draws its blade from the sheath,
  It strikes first at the heart of the dark-fated night.
  (Classical Persian romanization)
vagina
Synonyms: مهبل (mahbel), فرج (farj), غلاف (ğelâf)

Derived terms

نیامی (niyâmi, “vaginal”)
نیام کیر (niyâm-e kir, “prepuce”)

Descendants

→ Classical Azerbaijani: niyam
→ Pashto: نیام (niyām)
→ Ottoman Turkish: نیام (niyam)
→ Urdu: نِیام (niyām)

References

Ciancaglini, Claudia A. (2008) Iranian loanwords in Syriac (Beiträge zur Iranistik; 28)‎^[2], Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, page 214
Henning, W. B. (1977) Selected Papers (Acta Iranica; 14)‎^[3], volume 1, Tehran and Liège: Bibliothèque Pahlavi, pages 131–132
Horn, Paul (1893) Grundriss der neupersischen Etymologie (in German), Strasbourg: K.J. Trübner, page 238 Nr. 1063
Lagarde, Paul de (1866) Gesammelte Abhandlungen (in German), Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, page 79 Nr. 200
Nöldeke, Theodor (1884) “Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen mit einer kritischen Erörterung der aramäischen Wörter im Neuen Testament von E. Kautzsch. Leipzig 1884. VIII und 181 S. in Oktav.”, in Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen‎^[4] (in German), page 1022
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, pages 177–178 fn. 86
Wolff, Fritz (1935) Glossar zu Firdosis Schahname‎^[5] (in German), Berlin: Reichsdruckerei, page 829b
“ndn²”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
“ldn²”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
“nym³”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–