افسر

Gawar-Bati

Etymology

Borrowed from Pashto افسر or Urdu افسر, from English officer.

Noun

افسر (afsar)

1. officer

Persian

FWOTD – 20 February 2025

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ʔaf.ˈsar/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäf.sáɾ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäf.sáɾ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔäf.sáɾ]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔäf.sáɾ]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔæf.sǽɹ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäf.sáɾ]

• Rhymes: -ar

Readings
Classical reading?	afsar
Dari reading?	afsar
Iranian reading?	afsar
Tajik reading?	afsar

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle Persian [script needed] (’p̄ysl /⁠aꞵesar⁠/). Further possibly containing a deformed prefix to سر (sar, “head”) and a clipped ending after a Proto-Iranian *upasarah.

Noun

افسر • (afsar) (plural افسرها)

1. (archaic) crown, diadem

   Synonyms: تاج (tâj), کلاه (kolâh), دیهیم (deyhim), اکلیل (eklil)

   • 10th Century CE, Ferdowsi, Shahnameh

     که جاوید باد افسر و تخت او
     ز خورشید تابنده‌تر بخت او

     ki jāwēd bād afsar wa taxta 'ō
     zi xwaršēd tābanda-tar baxta 'ō

     May his crown and throne be ever-lasting
     May his fortune be brighter than the sun

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: əfsər
• → Ottoman Turkish: افسر (efser)
  • Turkish: efser

See also

• افسار (afsār, “headstall”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English officer.

Noun

افسر • (afsar) (plural افسران)

1. (military, Iran) officer

   Synonym: (Dari) آفیسر (āfīsar)

References

• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–), “افسر”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press.
• Henning, W. B. (1977), Selected Papers (Acta Iranica; 14)‎^[1], volume 1, Tehran and Liège: Bibliothèque Pahlavi, page 131: “darf nicht auf *abisarah- (> *ōsär) zurückgeführt werden, vielleicht aber auf *upasarah-”
• Horn, Paul (1893), Grundriss der neupersischen Etymologie (in German), Strasbourg: K.J. Trübner, page 23 Nr. 99
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892), “افسر”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary (overall work in English), London: Routledge & K. Paul, page 83
• Vullers, Johann August (1855), “افسر”, in Lexicon Persico-Latinum etymologicum cum linguis maxime cognatis Sanscrita et Zendica et Pehlevica comparatum, e lexicis persice scriptis Borhâni Qâtiu, Haft Qulzum et Bahâri agam et persico-turcico Farhangi-Shuûrî confectum, adhibitis etiam Castelli, Meninski, Richardson et aliorum operibus et auctoritate scriptorum Persicorum adauctum‎^[2] (in Latin), volume 1, Gießen: J. Ricker, page 112b

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from English officer.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /əf.səɾ/

Noun

اَفْسَر • (afsar) m (Hindi spelling अफ़्सर)

1. officer

   Synonym: آفیسر (āfīsar)

Further reading

• “افسر”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2026.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971), “افسر”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.