سفیر

See also: سفير

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic سَفِير (safīr, “ambassador”).

Noun

سفیر • (sefir) (plural سفرا (süfera))

1. envoy, representative, someone who represents others as a member of a legislative or governing body
2. ambassador, a minister of the highest rank sent to a foreign court to represent there his sovereign or country

   Synonym: ایلچی (ilçi)

Derived terms

• سقیر كبیر (sefir-i kebir, “ambassador”)

Descendants

• Turkish: sefir

Further reading

• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “sefir”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 4119
• Devellioğlu, Ferit (1962) “sefir”, in Osmanlıca-Türkçe Ansiklopedik Lûgat‎‎^[1] (in Turkish), Istanbul: Türk Dil Kurumu, page 1114
• Kélékian, Diran (1911) “سفیر”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎^[2], Constantinople: Mihran, page 682
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Legatus”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎^[3], Vienna, column 930
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “سفیر”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎^[4], Vienna, column 2630
• Redhouse, James W. (1890) “سفیر”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[5], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1063

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic سَفِير (safīr).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [sa.ˈfiːɾ]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.fíːɾ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.fíːɾ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [sä.fíːɾ]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [sä.fíɾ]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [sæ.fíːɹ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.fíɾ]

Readings
Classical reading?	safīr
Dari reading?	safīr
Iranian reading?	safir
Tajik reading?	safir

Noun

Dari	سفیر
Iranian Persian
Tajik	сафир

سفیر • (safir) (plural سفرا (sofarâ) or سفیران (safirân))

1. ambassador

   سفیر کنونی بریتانیا در ایران

   safir-e konuni-ye beritâniyâ dar irân

   the current British ambassador to Iran

2. (historical) envoy, messenger

   Synonyms: ايلچى (ilči), پیغامبر (peyğâmbar)

   • c. 1080, Nāṣir-i Khusraw, “Qaṣīda 106”, in دیوان ناصرخسرو [Dīvān of Nāṣir-i Khusraw]‎^[6]:

     قران را به پیغمبرت ناورید
     مگر جبرئیل آن مبارک سفیر

     qur'ān rā ba payğambar-at n-āwarīd
     magar jibra'īl ān mubārak safīr

     No other than Gabriel, that blessed messenger,
     Brought the Quran to your prophet.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

3. (rare) mediator

Related terms

• سفارت (sefârat)

 

Further reading

• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “سفیر”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “سفیر”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian سفیر (safīr), from Arabic سَفِير (safīr).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

سَفِیر • (safīr) m (Hindi spelling सफ़ीर)

1. ambassador, envoy
2. arbitrator, messenger
3. mediator

References

• “سفیر”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “سفیر”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.