زلف

Persian

Etymology

Understood traditionally as a borrowing from Arabic زُلَف (zulaf), a plural form of the noun زُلْفَة (zulfa, “dignity, rank, proximity, a portion of the night”), from زَلَفَ (zalafa, “to get close, to advance”, verb). The Persian meaning may have been influenced by other related forms such as Arabic زُلْفَى (zulfā) and زَلَف (zalaf), both meaning '"flattery, adulation" and زَلْف (zalf, “proximity, closeness”).

Noun

زلف • (zolf)

1. curl, tress

   تیره زلف ― tire zolf ― dark hair

   • c. 800 CE, Firooz :

     سرو سیمین ترا در مشک تر
     زلف فرخالت ز سر تا پا گرفت

Derived terms

• زلف بافته (“a braid”)

Descendants

• Hindi: ज़ुल्फ़ (zulf)
• Urdu: زلف

References

• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “زلف”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
• Diccionario avanzado árabe de Federico Corriente e Ignacio Ferrando, 2005, p. 492
• Kashshaaf Istilahaat al-Funooni wal Uloom by al-Tahanawi (d. 1777 CE) كشّاف اصطلاحات الفنون والعلوم للتهانوي
• Asaas al-Balaaghah by al-Zamakhshari (d. 1143 CE) أساس البلاغة للزمخشري