تهران

Persian

Alternative forms

• طهران (Tehrân) (dated)
• تهرون (Tehrun) (colloquial)

Etymology

There are various theories pertaining to the origin of the name Tehran.

One plausible theory is that the word "Tehran" is derived from Tiran/Tirgan, "The Abode of Tir", a zoroastrian deity. The ancient Parthian town of Tiran was a neighbour to the town of Mehran, "The Abode of Mihr/Mithra", the Zoroastrian deity of light. Both of these were mere villages in the suburbs of the great city of ری (Ray).

Another theory is that Tehran means "a warm place", opposed to Shemiran, a cooler district in northern Tehran.

The official City of Tehran website says that "Tehran" comes from the Persian words ته (tah, “end, bottom”) and ران (rân, “mountain slope”), literally, bottom of the mountain slope. Given Tehran's geographic position at the bottom of the slope of the Alborz Mountains, this appears to be the most plausible explanation of the origin of the name of the city.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

تهران • (Tehrân)

1. Tehran, capital city of Iran
2. Tehran province, Iran

Synonyms

• زورا (Zowrâ)

Derived terms

• تهرانی (Tehrâni)