اسفناج
Persian
Alternative forms
- سپاناج (sepânâj), اسپاناج (espânâj), سپناج (sepanâj), اسپناج (espanâj), اسپانج (espânaj), اسپنانج (espanânaj)
- سفاناج (sefânâj), اسفاناج (esfânâj)
- سپاناخ (sepânâx), اسپاناخ (espânâx), اسپناخ (espanâx), سپناخ (sepanâx), اسپناخ (espanâx), اسپانخ (espânax)
- سفاناخ (sefânâx), اسفاناخ (esfânâx), اسفناخ (esfanâx)
- اسباناخ (esbânâx), اسبناخ (esbenâx), سبانخ (sabânax)
- سبانج (sebânaj), اسبانج (esbânaj), اسبناج (esbanâj)
- اسپاناغ (espânâğ), اسپناغ (espanâğ)
Etymology
Kulturwort of Iranian origin. According to Asatrian, there were probably two forms in late Middle Iranian, *ispanāg (or *ispināg) and (the dialectal) *ispanāx (or *ispināx), yielding Arabized forms إِسْفَنَاج / إِسْفِنَاج (ʾisfanāj / ʾisfināj) and إِسْفَنَاخ / إِسْفِنَاخ (ʾisfanāḵ / ʾisfināḵ), which were popularized in Persian and Arabic, respectively (alternative forms with پ (p) are directly from Middle Iranian). The Old Iranian form would be *spināka-, *spinaka- (compare Kurdish sping), from the root *spin- (Northwestern Iranian), *sin- (Southwestern Iranian), ultimately from the Proto-Iranian *spai- (*spi-), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“thorn-like”) (*spi-), which are also reflected in Latin spina, Persian سنجد (senjed), Ossetian сындз (synʒ), синдзӕ (sinʒæ, “thorn”), Baluchi [script needed] (šinž), Central Iranian šeng, Kermani šank (“thorn”). Also akin to Semnani esbenāγa.
According to Cabolov, related to Northern Kurdish siping (“meadow salsify, possibly also spinach”) and Persian سپند (sipand, “wild rue”).
![](../I/m/Spinach_produce-1.jpg)
Pronunciation
- (Iranian Persian) IPA(key): /esfeˈnɒːd͡ʒ/, [ɛsfeˈnɒːd͡ʒ]
Noun
اسفناج • (esfanâj, esfenâj) (plural اسفناجها (esfanâj, esfenâj-hâ))
Descendants
Most are directly from Middle Iranian
- → Arabic: إِسْفَنَاخ / إِسْفِنَاخ (ʾisfanāḵ / ʾisfināḵ), إِسْفَانَاخ (ʾisfānāḵ), إِسْفَنَاج / إِسْفِنَاج (ʾisfanāj / ʾisfināj), سَبَانَخ / سَبَانِخ (sabānaḵ / sabāniḵ)
- Andalusian Arabic: [script needed] (isfināj), [script needed] (ispināj), [script needed] (isbināḵ)
- → Spanish: espinaca
- → Medieval Latin: spinacium, spinachium, spinarchia (influenced by spina (“thorn”))
- → Spanish: espinaca
- Andalusian Arabic: [script needed] (isfināj), [script needed] (ispināj), [script needed] (isbināḵ)
- → Georgian: ისპანახი (isṗanaxi)
- → Middle Armenian: սպանախ (spanax)
- Armenian: սպանախ (spanax)
- → Ottoman Turkish: اسفناج (isfinâj), اسپناخ (ispenâh), اسفاناخ (isfânâh)
- → Turkic:
- Azerbaijani: ispanaq
- Kipchak:
- Cuman: yspanac
- Ottoman Turkish: اسپاناك, اسپناك (ispanâk)
- Turkish: ıspanak
- Turkmen: ysmanak
References
- Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–), “اسفناج”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
- Asatrian, Garnik S. (2011) A Comparative Vocabulary of Central Iranian Dialects (in Persian and English), Tehran: Safir Ardehal Publications, pages 43–45
- Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892), “اسپناج”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
- Lokotsch, Karl (1927) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der europäischen Wörter orientalischen Ursprungs (in German), Heidelberg: Carl Winter’s Universitätsbuchhandlung, § 126, page 11
- Cabolov, R. L. (2010), “siping”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ kurdskovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Kurdish Language] (in Russian), volume II, Moscow: Russian Academy Press Vostochnaya Literatura, page 263
- Redhouse, J. W. (1884), “spinach”, in A Lexicon, English and Turkish, 3rd edition, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 703
- Redhouse, J. W.; Wells, Charles (1880), “spinach”, in Redhouse's Turkish Dictionary, in Two Parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English, 2nd edition, London: Bernard Quartch, 15 Piccadilly, page 306
- Abajev, V. I. (1979) Istoriko-etimologičeskij slovarʹ osetinskovo jazyka [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] (in Russian), volume III, Moscow, Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, pages 201–202