کفش

Persian

کفش‌های مشکی پاشنه‌بلند

Alternative forms

• کوش (kowš) (colloquial, Shiraz)

Etymology

From Middle Persian kpš (kafš, “shoe”), with further origin uncertain. Akin to Old Armenian կօշիկ (kōšik), Northern Luri کۏش (köş) and Arabic قَفْش (qafš), Iranian loanwords, as well as perhaps Old Armenian կապ (kap, “bond”), which would seem to suggest potential derivation from some extension or compound of Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize, hold”), albeit with formal details unclear.

Pronunciation

• (Iran) IPA^(key): /kæfʃ/, [kʲæfʃ]
• (Shiraz) IPA^(key): [kʰowʃ]

• Audio (Iran):

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• Audio (Iran):

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Noun

Dari	کفش
Iranian Persian
Tajik	кафш

کفش • (kafš) (plural کفش‌ها (kafš-hā / kafš-hâ), Tajik spelling кафш)

1. a shoe

   Synonym: بشماق (bašmâq)

2. a pair of shoes

   Synonym: جفت کفش (joft-e kafš)

Usage notes

• One often uses the singular for a pair of shoes: این کفش (in kafš, “these shoes, this pair of shoes”). This is different from the use of the singular for an indefinite number, which is possible with all nouns: کفش می‌فروشند (kafš mi-forušand, “they sell shoes”).

Derived terms

• کفّاش (kaffâš)
• کفش‌گر (kafš-gar)
• جاکفشی (jâkafši)
• کفش‌دوز (kafšduz, “shoemaker”)
• کفشدوزک (kafšduzak, “ladybug”)

Related terms

• موزه (muze)
• گیوه (give)
• پای‌افزار (pây-afzâr)

Descendants

• → Arabic: قَفْش (qafš)
• → Chagatai: کفش (kfš /⁠käfš⁠/), کاوش (kāwš /⁠käwüš⁠/)
  • Uyghur: كەش (kesh), كېپىش (këpish)
  • Uzbek: kafsh, kavush, kovush
• → Classical Malay: kaus
  • Malay: kaus
    • Indonesian: kaus
• → Georgian: ქოში (koši)
• → Hindi: कफ़्श (kafś)
• → Kazakh: кебіс (kebıs)
• → Kyrgyz: кепич (kepic)
• → Turkmen: köwüş

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “kafš”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press
• Nourai, Ali (2011), An Etymological Dictionary of Persian, English and other Indo-European Languages, page 203