سپاه

Persian

Alternative forms

• اسپاه (espâh), اسپه (espah), سپه (sepah)

Etymology

From Middle Persian spʾh / 𐭮𐭯𐭠𐭧 (spāh), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćwáHdʰaH, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwéh₁-dʰ-o-h₁ (dual), from *ḱweh₁-, *ḱewh₁- (“to swell, be great”). Possible cognate with Avestan 𐬯𐬏𐬌𐬛𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬌 (sūidiiāi, “to swell, increase”, inf.), Bactrian σοδο (sodo /⁠sūdo⁠/, “plenty”), Middle Persian [script needed] (swd /⁠sūd⁠/), [script needed] (swwd /⁠sūd⁠/, “profit, advantage”), Sanskrit शवस् (śavas, “strength, superiority”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [si.ˈpɑːh]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sɪ.pʰɑ́ːʱ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sɪ.pʰɑ́ːʱ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [sɪ.pʰɑ́ː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [si.pʰɔ́ː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [se.pʰɒ́ːʰ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [si.pʰɔ́ʱ]

Readings
Classical reading?	sipāh
Dari reading?	sipāh
Iranian reading?	sepâh
Tajik reading?	sipoh

Noun

سپاه • (sepâh) (plural سپاه‌ها (sepâh-hâ))

1. army

   Synonyms: لشکر (laškar), ارتش (arteš), (Dari) اردو (urdū)

2. (Iran) Short for سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی (sepâh-e pâsdârân-e enqelâb-e eslâmi, “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”).

Derived terms

• سپاهی (sepâhi)
• سپهبد (sepahbod)

 

Descendants

• → Urdu: سپاہ (sipāh)

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “سپاه”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
• Perixanjan, A. G. (1993) Материалы к этимологическому словарю древнеармянского языка. Часть I [Materials for the Etymological Dictionary of the Old Armenian Language. Part 1]‎^[1] (in Russian), Yerevan: Academy Press, page 18