عورت

Arabic

Etymology 1

Verb

عورت (form I)

1. عَوِرْتُ (ʕawirtu) /ʕa.wir.tu/: first-person singular past active of عَوِرَ (ʕawira)
2. عَوِرْتَ (ʕawirta) /ʕa.wir.ta/: second-person masculine singular past active of عَوِرَ (ʕawira)
3. عَوِرْتِ (ʕawirti) /ʕa.wir.ti/: second-person feminine singular past active of عَوِرَ (ʕawira)
4. عَوِرَتْ (ʕawirat) /ʕa.wi.rat/: third-person feminine singular past active of عَوِرَ (ʕawira)

Etymology 2

Verb

عورت (form II)

1. عَوَّرْتُ (ʕawwartu) /ʕaw.war.tu/: first-person singular past active of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)
2. عَوَّرْتَ (ʕawwarta) /ʕaw.war.ta/: second-person masculine singular past active of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)
3. عَوَّرْتِ (ʕawwarti) /ʕaw.war.ti/: second-person feminine singular past active of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)
4. عَوَّرَتْ (ʕawwarat) /ʕaw.wa.rat/: third-person feminine singular past active of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)
5. عُوِّرْتُ (ʕuwwirtu) /ʕuw.wir.tu/: first-person singular past passive of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)
6. عُوِّرْتَ (ʕuwwirta) /ʕuw.wir.ta/: second-person masculine singular past passive of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)
7. عُوِّرْتِ (ʕuwwirti) /ʕuw.wir.ti/: second-person feminine singular past passive of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)
8. عُوِّرَتْ (ʕuwwirat) /ʕuw.wi.rat/: third-person feminine singular past passive of عَوَّرَ (ʕawwara)

Old Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian عَوْرَت (awrat), from Arabic عَوْرَة (ʕawra).

Noun

عَورَت ('vrt) f (Devanagari औरत) (Middle Hindi)

1. woman
   • c. 1420, Kabīr, Kabīr Vāṇī 280.6:

     जेती औरत मरदां सिरजे
     ए सब रूप तुम्हारा

     jetī aurat maradā̃ siraje
     e sab rūp tumhārā

     as many women [and] men were created
     these [are] all to your likeness

   • 1503, نَو سَرْہَار (nau sarhār), 61:

     نَفَر چاکَر بانْد غُلام
     عَورَت مَرْد ہور خاص و عام

     nfr cakr band ġlam
     'vrt mrd hvr xaṣ v 'am

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     These examples are from a period later than Middle Indo-Aryan.
2. pudendum

Descendants

• Braj: औरत (aurat)
• Bundeli: औरत (aurat)
• Hindustani:

  Hindi: औरत (aurat)

  Urdu: عَورَت (‘aurat)

• Kannauji: अउरत, औरत

Further reading

• “عورت”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.

Persian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Arabic عَوْرَة (ʕawra)bor.

Persian عورت

Borrowed from Arabic عَوْرَة (ʕawra).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ʔaw.ˈrat/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.ɾát̪]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.ɾát̪]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.ɾát̪]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.ɾát̪]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔow.ɹǽt̪ʰ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔäw.ɾát̪]

Readings
Classical reading?	awrat
Dari reading?	awrat
Iranian reading?	owrat
Tajik reading?	avrat

Noun

عورت • (awrat / owrat) (Tajik spelling аврат)

1. (Islam) the pudenda or pudendum, the privy parts; nakedness

   Synonyms: شرمگاه (šarmgāh / šarmgâh), زهار (zihār / zehâr)

2. (by extension, dated, unfashionable) a woman; also, a wife

   Synonym: زن (zan)

Descendants

• → Bengali: অওরত (oōrot)
• → Chagatai: عورت (ʿwrt)
  • Uyghur: ئەۋرەت (ewret)
  • Uzbek: avrat
• → Garhwali: औरत (aurat)
• → Gujarati: ઓરત (orat)
• → Old Hindi:

  Devanagari script: औरत (aurat)

  Arabic script: عَورَت ('aurat)

  • Braj: औरत (aurat)
  • Bundeli: औरत (aurat)
  • Hindustani:

    Hindi: औरत (aurat)

    Urdu: عَورَت (‘aurat)

  • Kannauji: अउरत, औरत

• → Old Punjabi: ਅਉਰਤ (aurata)
  • → Punjabi:

    Gurmukhi script: ਔਰਤ (aurat)

    Shahmukhi script: عَورَت (ʻaurat)

• → Sindhi:

  Khudabadi script: 𑊹𑋙𑋍 (aurata)

  Devanagari script: औरत (aurata)

  Arabic script: عَوْرَتَ ('aurata)

• → Sarikoli: awrat

References

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934), “عورت”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim

Sindhi

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian عَوْرَت (awrat), from Arabic عَوْرَة (ʕawra).

Noun

عَوْرَتَ • (aurata) f (plural عَورَتُون, Devanagari औरत)

1. A woman

References

• Parmanand, Mewaram (1910), “عَوْرَتَ”, in Sindhi-English Dictionary, Hyderabad, Sindh: The Sind Juvenile Co-operative Society
• Khānu, Balocu (1960–1988), “عَورَتَ”, in Jāmiʻ Sindhī lughāta (in Sindhi), Hyderabad, Sindh: Sindhī Adabī Borḍ

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian عَوْرَت (awrat), from Arabic عَوْرَة (ʕawra, “genitals; nudity”), where the shift to "woman" in early New Indo-Aryan happened because it was considered immodest to expose the female body in public. First attested in c. 1503 as Middle Hindi عَورَت ('vrt)/औरत (aurata).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ɔː.ɾət̪/
  • (Terai) IPA^(key): /oː.ɾət̪/

• Audio (Pakistan):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ət̪
• Hyphenation: عَو‧رَت

Noun

عَورَت • ('aurat) f (formal plural عَورات ('aurāt), Hindi spelling औरत)

1. woman

   Synonyms: زَن (zan), نار (nār)

   Antonyms: مَرْد (mard), آدْمی (ādmī)

   • 2001, Kishwar Naheed, translated by Rekhta, Kulliyat Dusht-e-Qais Mein Laila‎^[1], page 972:

     یہ ہم گنہ گار عورتیں ہیں جو اہل جبہ کی تمکنت سے نہ رعب کھائیں نہ جان بیچیں نہ سر جھکائیں نہ ہاتھ جوڑیں

     ye ham gunahgār aurtẽ ha͠i jo ahl-e-jubbā kī tamaknat se na rob khāẽ na jān becẽ na sar jhukāẽ na hāth joṛẽ

     It is we sinful women who are not awed by the grandeur of those who wear gowns, who don't sell our lives, who don't bow our heads, who don't fold our hands together

2. wife

   Synonyms: بِیوِی (bīvī), زَوجَہ (zauja), اَہْلِیَہ (ahliya), گَھر والی (ghar vālī)

3. (Islam) pudendum

Declension

Declension of عورت

	singular	plural
direct	عَورَت ('aurat)	عَورَتیں ('auratẽ)
oblique	عَورَت ('aurat)	عَورَتوں ('auratõ)
vocative	عَورَت ('aurat)	عَورَتو ('aurato)

Derived terms

• عَورَت ذَات ('aurat zāt)

Further reading

• “عورت”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2026.
• Fallon, Platts, Qureshi, Shakespear (2024), “عورت”, in Digital Dictionaries of South Asia [Combined Urdu Dictionaries]