Persian

noun

Per·​sian ˈpər-zhən 

 especially British  -shən

1

: one of the people of Persia: such as

a

: one of the ancient Iranians who under Cyrus and his successors founded an empire in southwest Asia

b

: a member of one of the peoples forming the modern Iranian nationality

2

a

: any of several Iranian languages dominant in Persia at different periods

b

: the modern language of Iran and western Afghanistan see Indo-European Languages Table

3

: a thin soft silk formerly used especially for linings

4

: persian cat

Persian adjective

Examples of Persian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And while one aircraft carrier, the USS Truman, is now in the Mediterranean serving Washington’s operations in Europe, another, the USS Nimitz, is traveling from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, possibly on its way to the Persian Gulf. —Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2025

According to his official biography, Doukas has nearly two decades of experience in designing policies and programs to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy management at both the national and European levels, as well as in Africa and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. —Russell Flannery, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025

Here, again, the English translation fails to capture the historical and cultural connotations of the Persian, Bahari explained. —Robin Wright, New Yorker, 26 May 2025

They were gathered to launch Stargate UAE, an AI infrastructure 1-gigawatt compute cluster located in the Persian Gulf country. —Michael Barclay, Quartz, 22 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Persian

• Middle Persian
• Old Persian
• Persian cat
• Persian lamb

Rhymes for Persian

• version
• animadversion
• bioconversion
• cardioversion
• interconversion
• seroconversion
• aspersion
• aversion
• conversion
• dispersion
• diversion
• eversion

Kids Definition

Persian

noun

Per·​sian ˈpər-zhən 

1

: a native or inhabitant of ancient Persia or modern Iran

2

: the language of the Persians

Persian adjective