فرشته

See also: فرشتہ

Persian

Alternative forms

• فریشته (farīšta / ferište) (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle Persian plystk' (frēstag, “apostle; angel”) [Inscriptional Pahlavi needed] (plystky, “messenger”). Compare Manichaean Middle Persian frystg, prystg (frēstag), hrystg (hrēstag, “apostle; angle”), Manichaean Parthian fryštg (frēštag, “apostle; angel”), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬉𐬱𐬙𐬀- (fraēšta-, “messenger”), Sanskrit प्रेष्यता (preṣyatā); Middle Iranian borrowings Old Armenian հրեշտակ (hreštak), Jewish Babylonian Aramaic פרסתקא (prestəqāʾ, “royal guard, messenger”), and Classical Syriac ܦܪܣܬܩܐ (prestəqāʾ, “royal guard, messenger”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /fa.riʃ.ˈta/, /fi.riʃ.ˈta/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá], [fɪ.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá], [fɪ.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá], [fɪ.ɾɪʃ.t̪ʰá]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá], [fi.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [fe.ɹeʃ.t̪ʰé]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá], [fi.ɾiʃ.t̪ʰá]

Readings
Classical reading?	farištá, firištá
Dari reading?	farišta, firišta
Iranian reading?	ferešte
Tajik reading?	farišta, firišta

Noun

فرشته • (farišta / ferešte) (plural فرشته‌ها (farišta-hā / ferešte-hâ), or فرشتگان, Tajik spelling фаришта)

1. angel (divine and supernatural messenger from a deity)
   • c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume II, verse 713:

     چون فرشته بود همچون دیو شد
     کان ملاحت اندر او عاریه بد

     čūn farišta būd hamčūn dēw šud
     k-ān malāhat andar ō 'āriya bud

     She was like an angel, she became like a demon,
     for that loveliness in her was a borrowed (transient) thing.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Derived terms

• فرشته‌ای (farišta-ī / ferešte-i)

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: firiştə, fəriştə
• → Bengali: ফেরেশতা (fereśta)
• → Chagatai: فرشته (färiştä)
  • Uyghur: پەرىشتە (perishte)
  • Uzbek: farishta
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: फ़रिश्ता (fariśtā), फ़िरिश्ता (firiśtā), फ़ेरिश्ता (feriśtā), फरिश्ता (phariśtā), फिरिश्ता (phiriśtā), फेरिश्ता (pheriśtā) — nuqtaless

  Urdu: فَرِشْتَہ (fariśta)

• → Kazakh: періште (perışte)
• → Ottoman Turkish: فرشته (firişte, ferişte, ferişta)

  > Turkish: ferişte, feriştah (inherited)

• → Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi script: ਫ਼ਰਿਸ਼ਤਾ (fariśtā), ਫਰਿਸ਼ਤਾ (phariśtā), ਫ਼ਰਿਸਤਾ (faristā), ਫਰਿਸਤਾ (pharistā) — nuqtaless

  Shahmukhi script: فَرِشْتَہ (fariśtah)

• → Udi: фаьриштӏаь (färišṭä)

Proper noun

فرشته • (farišta / ferešte) (Tajik spelling Фаришта)

1. a female given name, Fereshteh, Fereshte, Farishtah, Farishta, Fareshta, or Firishta, from Middle Persian

References

• “prstq”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “frēstag”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press