Definition

Noun: 1. The modern Persian language: The official language of Iran, also spoken in Afghanistan and Tajikistan (where it is called Dari and Tajik, respectively). It is an Indo-European language written in a modified Arabic script. 2. (Archaic) A person of Iranian descent: An older term for an ethnic Persian or Iranian.

Usage

• As the name of the language:
  • She is fluent in Farsi and English.
  • The poetry of Rumi was originally written in Farsi.
• (Archaic) Referring to a person:
  • A community of Farsi merchants settled in the port city. (This usage is now dated.)

Advanced Usage / Notes

• "Farsi" vs. "Persian": In English, "Persian" is the more common term for the language, especially in academic and historical contexts (e.g., Persian literature, Persian carpet). "Farsi" is the native name for the language and is increasingly used in everyday English, particularly when referring to the modern spoken language. The two terms are often used interchangeably.
• The term is sometimes used historically to refer to earlier forms of the Persian language.

Variants and Related Words

• Persian (noun): 1. The Persian language. 2. A person from Persia (Iran).
• Dari (noun): One of the two official languages of Afghanistan, a variety of Persian.
• Tajik (noun): The variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan, written in the Cyrillic script.

Synonyms

• Persian (for the language)

Related Phrases / Collocations

• Farsi speaker: A person who speaks Farsi.
  • The conference provided translation services for Farsi speakers.
• Farsi script: The writing system used for Farsi.
  • Learning the Farsi script is the first step to reading the language.

Noun

1. the language of Persia (Iran) in any of its ancient forms
2. a person of Iranian descent
   • many Farsi emigrated to India near Bombay