گاو

Kashmiri

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian گَاو (gāw).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡaːʋ]

Noun

گاو • (gāv) f (plural گٲو)

1. cow

Persian

Alternative forms

• گاب (gâb), گو (gow), گا (gâ) (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (TWRA /⁠gāw⁠/), from Old Persian 𐎥𐎢 (g-u), from Proto-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws.

Cognate to English cow, Urdu گائے (gāe) / Hindi गाय (gāy), Avestan 𐬔𐬀𐬊 (gao), Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs), Latin bōs.

Pronunciation

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

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ɡɑːw]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ɡɑːw]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ɡäw]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ɡäw]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ɡ̥ɒːv]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ɡɔw]

Readings
Classical reading?	gāw
Dari reading?	gāw
Iranian reading?	gâv
Tajik reading?	gov

• (Iran, some dialects) IPA^(key): /ɡow/

Noun

گاو • (gāw / gâv) (plural گاوها (gāw-hā / gâv-hâ), Tajik spelling гов)

1. cow, bull, cattle
   • c. 1260, Rumi, “5:3500”, in The Masnavi:

     او اگر دیوانه است و فتنه‌کاو، داروی دیوانه باشد کیر گاو.

     u agar divâne ast o fetne-kâv, dâru-ye divâne bâšad kir-e gâv.

     If he is mad and bent on mischief, the cure for a madman is an ox-hide whip.

     (Reynold A. Nicholson translation)

2. (astronomy) the constellation Taurus
   • 1192, Nizami Ganjavi, “Layla and Majnun”, in Khamsa:

     گاو فلکی چو گاو دریا، گوهر بگلو در از ثریا.

     gâv-e falaki čo gâv-e daryâ, gowhar be-galu dorr az sorayyâ.

     the celestial Bull, like the cow of the sea, has on its neck gems, and pearls from the Pleiades.

Derived terms

• آبله گاوی (âbele-ye gâvi, “cowpox”)
• گاو دریایی (gâv-e daryâyi, “manatee”)
• گاو دوش (gâv duš, “milking vessel”)
• گاو چران (gâv čarân, “cowherd”)
• گاو چشم (gâv češm, “big eyes”)
• گاوآهن (gâv-âhan, “plow”)
• گاوسار (gâvsâr, “kind of mace weapon”)
• گاومیش (gâvmêš, “buffalo”)
• گاوی (gâvi, “bovine”)
• گل گاوزبان (gol gâv-zabân, “Echium plant”)

Related terms

• گمیز (gomiz, “cow urine”)

Descendants

• → Urdu: گاو (gāv, gāo)

Further reading

• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–), “گاو”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press.

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian گَاو (gāw). Doublet of گائے (gāe).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ɡɑːʋ/, /ɡɑː.oː/

Noun

گَاوْ or گَاو • (gāv or gāo) m (Hindi spelling गाव)

1. cow, bull, ox

   Synonym: گائے (gāe)

2. cattle

Declension

Declension of گاو

	singular	plural
direct	گاو (gāv)	گاویں (gāvẽ)
oblique	گاو (gāv)	گاووں (gāvõ)
vocative	گاو (gāv)	گاوو (gāvo)

Derived terms

• گاؤ کُشی (gāv-kušī, “cow-slaughter, cow-sacrifice”)
• گاو تَکِیَہ (gāv-takīya, “a long cylindrical pillow”)
• گاو خانَہ (gāv-xāna^h, “cowshed, cattle-pound”)
• گاو خورد (gāv-xurd, “destroyed, ruinous, ruined”)
• گاو دَبی (gāv-dabī, “mindless, simpleton”)
• گاو دُم (gāv-dum, “cow-tail, anything thick on one end and thin on the other, slippery, sloping”)
• گاو زور (gāv-zōr, “powerful, mighty”)
• گاو پَرواری (gāv-parvārī, “fostering cattle, taking care of cattle”)
• گاو پَیکَر (gāv-paikar, “bull-figured, one with a mighty build”)
• گاو پُشْت (gāv-pušt, “sloping like a cow's back, (metaphorically) the sky”)
• گاو چَشْم (gāv-čaš^ám, “large-eyed”)
• گاوا گوشْت (gāvā-gošt, “beef, cow-meat”)
• گاوا گھی (gāvā-ghī, “cow ghee”)
• گاوزوری (gāvzorī, “violence, brutality, wrestling”)
• گَہْوارَہ (gāh^ávāra^h, “cradle, place of origin, place of birth”)
• گہوارہ جنبانی (gāh^ávāra^h-e-junbānī, “rocking cradle”)