نامه

See also: نامە and نامہ

Persian

Etymology

From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (MGLTA) / [Book Pahlavi needed] (nʾmk' /⁠nāmag⁠/, “book, letter, any written text”), equivalent to nām (“name”) (itself from Proto-Iranian *Hnā́ma (“name”)) + -ak (derivative suffix), originally a "name-list" or catalogue of products made for economic or bureaucratic purposes, this being the most common use of writing in early Iranian languages. By surface analysis, نام (nām / nâm, “name”) +‎ ـه (-a / -e), but rarely analyzed or understood as such. Compare Old Armenian նամակ (namak, “letter, writing”), an Iranian borrowing.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /naː.ˈma/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [nɑː.má]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [nɑː.má]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [nɑː.má]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [nɔː.má]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [nɒː.mé]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [nɔ.má]

Readings
Classical reading?	nāma
Dari reading?	nāma
Iranian reading?	nâme
Tajik reading?	noma

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

Noun

Dari	نامه
Iranian Persian
Tajik	нома

نامه • (nāma / nâme) (plural نامه‌ها)

1. letter (written or printed communication)
2. (archaic, or in compounds) book; anything written

   Synonym: کتاب (kitāb / ketâb)

   • 1197, Niẓāmī Ganjavī, هفت پیکر [Haft Paykar]‎^[1]:

     باز جستم ز نامه‌های نهان
     که پراکنده بود گرد جهان
     زان سخن‌ها که تازی‌ست و دری
     در سواد بخاری و طبری

     bāz justam zi nāma-hā-yi nahān
     ki parākanda būd gird-i jahān
     z-ān suxan-hā ki tāzī-st u darī
     dar sawād-i buxārī u tabarī

     I sought again from hidden books
     Which were scattered all around the world;
     From the words which are Persian and Arabic
     In the works of Bukhārī and Ṭabarī.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Derived terms

• اعتبارنامه (i'tibārnāma / e'tebârnâme, “letter of credit”)
• اعتراض‌نامه (i'tirāz-nāma / e'terâz-nâme, “letter of protest”)
• امان‌نامه (imān-nāma / emân-nâme)
• تقدیرنامه (taqdīrnāma / taġdirnâme, “letter of commendation”)
• رزم‌نامه (razm-nāma / razm-nâme, Mughal translation of the Mahabharata, literally “book of war”)
• روزنامه (rōznāma / ruznâme, “newspaper”)
• زندگی‌نامه (zindagī-nāma / zendegi-nâme, “biography”, literally “book of life”)
• سالنامه (sālnāma / sâlnâme)
• سفرنامه (safarnāma / safarnâme, “travelogue”)
• شاهنامه (šāhnāma / šâhnâme, “the Shahnameh”, literally “book of kings”)
• شجره‌نامه (šajara-nāma / šajare-nâme, “genealogy”)
• طلاق‌نامه (talāq-nāma / talâġ-nâme, “decree of divorce”)
• فیلمنامه (fīlmnāma / filmnâme, “screenplay”)
• لغت‌نامه (luġat-nāma / loġat-nâme, “dictionary”)
• ماهنامه (māhnāma / mâhnâme)
• معرفی‌نامه (mu'arrifī-nāma / mo'arrefi-nâme, “letter of recommendation”)
• نامه‌بر (nāma-bar / nâme-bar, “letter carrier”)
• نامه‌رسان (nāma-rasān / nâme-rasân, “letter carrier”)
• نامه‌نویس (nāma-nawīs / nâme-navis)
• هبه‌نامه (hiba-nāma / hebe-nâme, “deed of gift”)
• هفته‌نامه (hafta-nāma / hafte-nâme)
• وصیت‌نامه (wasiyyat-nāma / vasiyat-nâme, “will”)
• وکالتنامه (wikālatnāma / vekâlatnâme, “power of attorney; proxy”)
• پایان‌نامه (pāyān-nāma / pâyân-nâme)
• گاهنامه (gāhnāma / gâhnâme)
• گواهی‌نامه (gawāhī-nāma / gavâhi-nâme, “credential”)
• گیرنده‌نامه (gayranda-nāma / geyrande-nâme, “addressee”)

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: namə / نامه
• → Bengali: -নামা (-nama)
• → Gujarati: નામું (nāmũ)
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: नामा (nāmā)

  Urdu: نامہ (nāma)

• → Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: نامە (name)

  Northern Kurdish: name

• → Ottoman Turkish: نامه (nâme)
  • Turkish: name
  • → Crimean Tatar: name
• → Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi script: ਨਾਮਾ (nāmā)

  Shahmukhi script: نامہ (nāma)

• → Uzbek: noma

Further reading

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “nāmag”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 57
• Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1977), “նամակ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume III, Yerevan: University Press, page 425b
• “nmq”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–