مو شکافتن

Persian

Etymology

• موی شکافتن (muy šekâftan) (archaic)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [moːj ʃi.kɑːf.tan]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [muː ʃe.kʰɒːf.t̪ʰæn]

Readings
Classical reading?	mōy šikāftan
Iranian reading?	mu šekâftan

Verb

مو شکافتن • (mu šekâftan)

1. (literal) to split hairs
2. (figurative, obsolete) to be thorough and meticulous
   • 1177, ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur, “The Tale of the Shaykh of Ṣamʿān”, in fa: منطق‌الطیر [The Conference of the Birds]‎^[1]:

     موی می‌بشکافت مرد معنوی
     در کرامات و مقامات قوی

     mōy mē-biškāft mard-i ma'nawī
     dar karāmāt u maqāmāt-i qawī

     The spiritual man was most meticulous
     In deeds of perfection and the degrees of power.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Usage notes

• This idiom does not mean "to split hairs" (to be bogged down in pedantry) as in English, despite the literal meaning being the same.