چلیدن

Persian

Etymology

Likely ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *čálHati (“to move, to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷélh₁-e-ti (“to turn”), although the regular descendant of this in Persian is چریدن (čaridan, “to graze”). Perhaps borrowed from another Iranian language; compare Baluchi چلنڈگ (calanďag, “to move back and forth”) from the same root.

Compare Persian چالاک (čâlâk, “fast, agile, clever”), چالش (čâleš, “gait, challenge”), Sanskrit चरति (carati, “to move oneself, to be engaged in”), and Avestan 𐬗𐬀𐬭𐬁𐬥𐬍 (carānī, “I move, I approach”).

Pronunciation

• Audio

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• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃa.liː.ˈðan]

Readings
Classical reading?	čalīḏan

Verb

چلیدن • (čalīdan) (present stem چل (čal))

1. (obsolete) to go; to walk
   • 11th century, Nāṣir Khusraw, “Qasīda 245”, in دیوان ناصرخسرو [Dīvān of Nāṣir Khusraw]‎^[1]:

     چون ز ستوری به مردمی نشوی
     ای پسر، و از خری برون نچلی
     عامه ستور است و فانی است ستور
     ای که خردمند مردم است ازلی

     čōn zi sutōr⁠ī ba mardumī na-šawī
     ay pisar, u az xarī birōn na-čalī
     āmma sutōr⁠ ast u fānī ast sutōr⁠
     ay ki xiradmand mardum ast azalī

     Why do you not go from beastliness to humanity,
     O child, [why] not go beyond donkeyness [donkey-like ignorance]?
     The ignorant masses are beasts, and beasts are mortal,
     O you [keep this in mind], for the wise man is immortal.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “چلیدن”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
• Nourai, Ali (2011) An Etymological Dictionary of Persian, English and other Indo-European Languages, page 260