سفید

Persian

Alternative forms

• سپید‎ (sapêd) (literary, poetic)
• اسپید‎ (espêd) (poetic, dialectal)
• اسفید‎ (esfid), اسبید‎ (esbêd)

Etymology

From earlier سپید‎ (sapêd), from Middle Persian spyt' (spēd, “white”), from Proto-Iranian *cwaytáh (compare Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀‎ (spaēta, “white”), Sogdian [script needed] (ʾspʾyt)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćwaytás (compare Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”) (compare Old Church Slavonic свѣтъ (světŭ), Old English hwīt (“white”)).

Borrowed from Iranian: Old Armenian սպիտակ (spitak), սպետ (spet), սպիտ (spit); Old Georgian სპეტაკი (sṗeṭaḳi), სპეტი (sṗeṭi), Georgian სუფთა (supta), Arabic سِبِيدَاج‎ (sibīdāj), Ottoman Turkish اوستبج‎ (üstübec), استوبج‎ (üstübec).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /safeːð/

• (Dari Persian) IPA^(key): /safeːd/

• (Iranian Persian) IPA^(key): /sefiːd/

• (Tajik) IPA^(key): /safed/

Adjective

Dari	سفید
Iranian Persian
Tajik	сафед (safed)

سفید • (sefid)

1. white
2. fair
3. pale
4. clear

Derived terms

• سفیدی‎
• سفیدک‎
• سفیده‎

Descendants

• → Assamese: চফেদ (sophed), ছফেদ (sophed)
• → Bengali: সফেদ (śôphed)
• → Gujarati: સફેદ (saphed)
• → Hindustani: safed

  Hindi: सफ़ेद

  Urdu: سفید‎

• → Maithili: saphēd

  Devanagari: सफेद

  Tirhuta: 𑒮𑒤𑒹𑒠

• → Marathi: सफेद (saphed)
• → Marwari: सफेद (saphed)
• → Oriya: ସଫେଦ (sôphedô)
• → Old Punjabi: ਸੁਪੇਦੁ (supedu)
  • Punjabi:

    Gurmukhi: ਸਫ਼ੈਦ (safaid)

    Shahmukhi: سَفَید‎ (safaid)

• → Sindhi:

  Arabic: سُفيدُ‎

  Devanagari: सुफ़ेदु

See also

Colors in Persian · رنگ‌ها‎ (rang-hâ) (layout · text)

سفید (sefid)	خاکستری‎ (xâkestari), توسی‎ (tusi)	سیاه‎ (siyâh), مشکی‎ (meški)
سرخ‎ (sorx), قرمز‎‎ (qermez); زرشکی‎ (zereški)	نارنجی‎ (nârenji); قهوه‌ای‎ (qahve'i), بور‎ (bur)	زرد‎ (zard); كرم‎ (kerem)
سبز لیمویی‎ (sabz-e limuyi)	سبز‎ (sabz)
آبى دريايى‎ (âbi-ye daryâyi); سبز دودى‎ (sabz-e dudi), فیروزه‌ای‎ (firuze-i)	لاجوردى‎ (lâjvardi)	آبی‎ (âbi), سرمه‌ای‎ (sorme'i)
بنفش‎ (banafš); نيلى‎ (nili)	سرخابى‎ (sorxâbi); ارغوانی‎ (arğavâni)	صورتى‎ (surati)

References

• Ačaṙean, Hračʿeay (1979), “սպիտակ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), volume IV, 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, Yerevan: University Press, pages 264–265
• Horn, Paul (1893) Grundriss der neupersischen Etymologie (in German), Strasbourg: K.J. Trübner, § 708, page 157
• Hübschmann, Heinrich (1897) Armenische Grammatik. 1. Theil: Armenische Etymologie (in German), Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, page 240
• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “spēd”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press

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Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian سفید‎ (safed).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /sə.feːd̪/

Adjective

سفید • (safed) (Hindi spelling सफ़ेद)

1. white
2. clean
3. blank

Synonyms

• اجلا‎ (ujlā)
• ابیض‎ (abyaz)

Derived terms

• سفیدہ‎ (safēdā)
• سفیدی‎ (safēdī)

See also

Colors in Urdu · رنگ‎ (raṅg) (layout · text)

سفید (safed), ابیض‎ (abyaz)	سرمئی‎ (sarmaī), خاکستری‎ (xākistarī), دھوسر‎ (dhūsar)	کالا‎ (kālā), سیاہ‎ (siyāh), اسود‎ (aswad)
سرخ‎ (surx), لال‎ (lāl), قرمزی‎ (qarmazī), احمر‎ (ahmar)	مالٹائی‎ (mālṭāī), نارنجی‎ (nāranjī), نارنگی‎ (nārangī); بھورا‎ (bhūrā), بادامی‎ (bādāmī), خاکی‎ (xākī), مٹیالا‎ (maṭiālā)	پیلا‎ (pīlā), زرد‎ (zard), اصفر‎ (asfar), بسنتی‎ (basantī)
پستہ‎ (pistah), انگوری‎ (aṅgūrī), دھانی‎ (dhānī)	سبز‎ (sabz), ہرا‎ (harā)
فیروزی‎ (ferozī)	آسمانی‎ (āsmānī), نیلگوں‎ (nīlgū̃), لاجوردی‎ (lājvardī), آبی‎ (ābī), آبگوں‎ (ābgū̃)	نیلا‎ (nīlā), ازرق‎ (azraq)
نیل‎ (nīl), بنفشی‎ (banafśī), بنفش‎ (banafś)	جامنی‎ (jāmnī), اودا‎ (ūdā), ارغوانی‎ (arġawānī), بیگنی‎ (beganī), بینگنی‎ (benganī), بینجنی‎ (benjanī)	گلابی‎ (gulābī), پیازی‎ (pīāzī)

Further reading

• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971), “سفيد”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co., page 380
• “سفید”, in Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2023.