فرشته

See also: فرشتہ

Persian

Alternative forms

فریشته (farīšta / ferište) (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle Persian plystk' (frēstag, “apostle; angel”) [Inscriptional Pahlavi needed] (plystky, “messenger”). Compare Manichaean Middle Persian frystg, prystg (frēstag), hrystg (hrēstag, “apostle; angle”), Manichaean Parthian fryštg (frēštag, “apostle; angel”), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬉𐬱𐬙𐬀- (fraēšta-, “messenger”), Middle Iranian borrowings Old Armenian հրեշտակ (hreštak), Jewish Babylonian Aramaic פרסתקא (prestəqāʾ, “royal guard, messenger”), and Classical Syriac ܦܪܣܬܩܐ (prestəqāʾ, “royal guard, messenger”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /fa.riʃ.ˈta/, /fi.riʃ.ˈta/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá], [fɪ.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá], [fɪ.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá], [fi.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [fe.ɹeʃ.t̪ʰé]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá], [fi.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá]

Readings
Classical reading^?	farištá, firištá
Dari reading^?	farišta, firišta
Iranian reading^?	ferešte
Tajik reading^?	farišta, firišta

Noun

فرشته • (farišta / ferešte) (plural فرشته‌ها (farišta-hā / ferešte-hâ), or فرشتگان, Tajik spelling фаришта)

angel (divine and supernatural messenger from a deity)
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume II, verse 713:
  چون فرشته بود همچون دیو شد
  کان ملاحت اندر او عاریه بد
  čūn farišta būd hamčūn dēw šud
  k-ān malāhat andar ō 'āriya bud
  She was like an angel, she became like a demon,
  for that loveliness in her was a borrowed (transient) thing.
  (Classical Persian transliteration)

Derived terms

فرشته‌ای (farišta-ī / ferešte-i)

Descendants

→ Bengali: ফেরেশতা (fereśta)
→ Chagatai: فرشته (färiştä)
- Uyghur: پەرىشتە (perishte)
- Uzbek: farishta
→ Hindustani:
Hindi: फ़रिश्ता (fariśtā)

Urdu: فَرِشْتَہ (fariśta)
→ Ottoman Turkish: فرشته (firişte, ferişte, ferişta)
> Turkish: ferişte, feriştah (inherited)
→ Punjabi:
Gurmukhi script: ਫ਼ਰਿਸ਼ਤਾ (fariśtā)
→ Udi: фаьриштӏаь (färišṭä)

Proper noun

فرشته • (farišta / ferešte) (Tajik spelling Фаришта)

a female given name, Fereshteh, Fereshte, Farishtah, Farishta, Fareshta, or Firishta, from Middle Persian

References

“prstq”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “frēstag”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press