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PERSIAN | |
| apadana | the great hall or throne-room of an ancient Persian palace. |
| attar otto ottar | a fragrant essential oil made from the damask rose. |
| azedarach+ | the stringent bark of the chinaberry, used as an emetic and cathartic. [Persian 'noble tree']. |
| backsheesh baksheesh backshish bakshish buckshish | in Eastern countries, a gift or present of money, a tip; (verb) to give a tip. [Pers. bakhshish, from bakhshidan, from baksh, to give]. |
| bazaar bazar | an Eastern market-place. |
| bezoar | a concretion with a hard nucleus found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals (chiefly ruminants), formerly believed to be antidotal. [Pers. padzahr, antidote, through Arabic and Spanish]. |
| bukshee bukshi | a paymaster. [Persian bakhshi]. |
| chadar chaddar chaddor chador chuddah chuddar chudder | the large veil worn by Muslim women. CHADOR takes a plural of CHADORS or CHADRI. All other forms simply take –S. |
| chenar chinar | the oriental plane tree. |
| dargah+ durgah+ | a structure over a place where a holy person is buried. |
| deev div | in Iranian (esp. Zoroastrian) mythology: a demonic power. |
| firman | a decree or judicial decision; a passport, a licence. [Persian ferman]. |
| gambroon | a twilled cloth of worsted and cotton. [Gambrun, a town in Persia]. |
| gul | a design in Oriental carpets: a stylized rose motif. |
| handjar hanjar khanjar | a Persian dagger. |
| hom+ homa+ | a sacred plant of the ancient Persians. |
| houri | any of the virgins of the Muslim paradise, promised as wives to believers; hence, a voluptuously beautiful woman. |
| julep | a cocktail of bourbon, sugar, and mint. [Persian gulab, rosewater]. |
| kalam | a type of Muslim theology. |
| kalamdan qalamdan | a Persian writing-case. |
| kalamkari | a method of colouring and decorating by several dyeings or printings. |
| kalian | a Persian hookah. |
| kenaf | a fibre-yielding plant of E. Indies, aka AMBARY or AMBARI. |
| lasque | a flat thin diamond, common in India. [Persian lashk]. |
| markhoor markhor | a large wild goat with huge flattened spiral horns. Also MARKHOR. |
| mirza | a Persian title of honour. |
| mogul moghul mughal+ | an influential person, a magnate. |
| mohur | a Persian gold coin. [Persian mohr]. |
| narghile nargile nargileh narghilly narghily nargilly nargily | a HOOKAH, an Oriental tobacco pipe in which smoke is drawn through water by a long tube. [Persian nargil. coconut]. |
| padishah padhsah | a chief ruler; monarch; sovereign. [Persian pad, master, + shah, king]. |
| pagod pagoda | an Eastern temple, esp. in the form of a many-storeyed tapering tower. [Persian butkhada, idol temple]. |
| pahlavi | a gold Iranian coin. |
| pashim pashm pashmina | the fine underfleece of the goats of N. India, used for making rugs, shawls etc. [Persian pashm, wool]. |
| peishwa peshwa peishwah | the chief minister of the Mahrattas. |
| peri | one of a race of superhuman beings, originally represented as evil but subsequently as good and graceful. |
| pilaf pilaff pilau pilaw pilow pillau pilao+ pulao+ | a dish of rice. |
| pir | a Muslim title, given to a holy man. |
| poshteen posteen postin | an Afghan greatcoat. |
| pul | a monetary unit of Afghanistan. Pl. PULS, PULI. |
| roc ruc rok rukh | a fabulous bird. |
| saz | a stringed instrument of Turkey and the Middle East. Pl. SAZES or SAZZES. |
| seacunny | a Lascar steersman or quartermaster. [Persian sukkani]. |
| seersucker | a light, thin fabric, such as cotton or rayon, with a crinkled surface and a usually striped pattern. [Ultimately from Persian 'shir o shakkar', or literally, 'milk and sugar']. |
| serdab | an underground chamber; a secret chamber in an ancient Egyptian tomb. |
| shah | (a title of) the monarch of Iran (Persia). |
| shahdom | the domain of a SHAH. |
| simorg simurgh simurg | a monstrous bird of Persian fable. |
| tebbad | a sandstorm. [Persian 'fever wind']. |
| toman | a former Persian gold coin and money of account, nominally worth 10,000 dinars. [Persian tuman]. |
| usnea | a genus of lichens, most of the species of which have long, gray, pendulous, and finely branched fronds. [Persian ushnah, moss]. |
| yakhdan | a box used for carrying ice on the back of a pack animal. [Persian yakh, ice + dan, box]. |
| zakat | in Islam, a tax payable on certain types of property. |
| zerumbet | an E. Indian drug, related to CASSUMUNAR and ZEDOARY. [Persian zerunbad]. |