پاک

See also: باک, باگ, and تاک

Central Kurdish

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *pawHākáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pawHākás, from Proto-Indo-European *pewH-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paːk/

Adjective

پاک (pak)

1. clean, pure

   Synonym: خاوێن (xawên)

2. chaste
3. innocent, clean-handed, sinless

Derived terms

• پاکانە (pakane)
• پاکداوێن (pakdawên)
• پاکژ (pakij)
• پاکی (pakî)

Persian

Etymology

From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (pʾk' /⁠pāk⁠/, “clean, pure, holy”), from Proto-Iranian *pawHākáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pawHākás, from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to cleanse, purify”). Cognate with Sanskrit पावक (pāvaká, “pure, clean, clear”), Latin purus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈpaːk/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɑːk]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɑːk]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [pʰɑːk]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [pʰɔːk]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɒːkʰʲ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɔk]

• Rhymes: -aːk

Readings
Classical reading?	pāk
Dari reading?	pāk
Iranian reading?	pâk
Tajik reading?	pok

Adjective

Dari	پاک
Iranian Persian
Tajik	пок, тоза

پاک • (pâk)

1. clean, pure
2. innocent, clean-handed, sinless
3. holy
4. (dialectal) all

   پاک مردم رفتنه.

5. (dialectal) every
6. (dialectal) everyone

Derived terms

• پاکستان (pâkestân, “Pakistan”, literally “land of the pure”)
• پاک‌کن (pâk-kon, “eraser”)
• پاک کردن (pâk kardan, “to clean”)
• پاکیزه

Descendants

• → Assamese: পাক (pak)
• → Azerbaijani: pak
• → Bengali: পাক (pak)
• → Gujarati: પાક (pāk)
• → Old Hindi: पाक (pāka)
  • Hindustani: pāk

    Hindi: पाक

    Urdu: پاک (pāk)

• → Maithili: pāk

  Devanagari script: पाक

  Tirhuta script: 𑒣𑒰𑒏

• → Old Punjabi: ਪਾਕੁ (pāku)
  • Punjabi: pāk

    Gurmukhi script: ਪਾਕ

    Shahmukhi script: پاک

• → Kazakh: пәк (päk)
• → Sindhi:

  Arabic script: پاڪُ (pāku)

  Devanagari script: पाकु

• → Sylheti: ꠙꠣꠇ (fax)
• → Ottoman Turkish: پاك (pak)
  • Turkish: pak
  • → Armenian: փաք (pʻakʻ)
  • → Laz: ფაღი (paği)
• → Turkmen: päk
• → Tatar: пакь (pak)
• → Uyghur: پاك (pak)
• → Uzbek: pok

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “pāk”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 64.

Urdu

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /pɑːk/
• Rhymes: -ɑːk

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *pewH-

Classical Persian پَاک (pāk)bor.

Urdu پاک

Borrowed from Classical Persian پَاک (pāk). First attested in c. 1265 as Old Hindi پاک (pak /⁠pāk⁠/).

Adjective

پَاک • (pāk) (indeclinable, Hindi spelling पाक)

1. clean, pure

Etymology 2

Shortening of پَاکِسْتَان (pākistān), itself from پاک (pāk) +‎ ـِسْتَان (-istān).

Noun

پَاک • (pāk) m (Hindi spelling पाक)

1. clipping of پاکستان (“Pakistan”)

   پاک فَوج ― pāk fauj ― Pakistan army

Further reading

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

Ushojo

Etymology

From Urdu پاک (pāk).

Noun

پاک (pāk)

1. bright, pure