گاو

Persian

Alternative forms

• 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 *gāuš, 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): [ɡɑːw]

 

• (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

Dari	گاو
Iranian Persian
Tajik	гов

گاو • (gâv) (plural گاوها‎ (gâv-hâ))

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 (âble-ye gâvi, “cowpox”)
• گاوآهن‎ (gâv-âhan, “plow”)
• گاو چران‎ (gâv čarân, “cowherd”)
• گاو چشم‎ (gâv češm, “big eyes”)
• گاو دریایی‎ (gâv-e daryâyi, “manatee”)
• گاو دوش‎ (gâv duš, “milking vessel”)
• گاو زبان‎ (gâv zabân, “Echium plant”)
• گاوسر‎ (gâvsar, literally “kind of mace weapon”)
• گاومیش‎ (gâvmêš, “buffalo”)
• گاوی‎ (gâvi, “bovine”)

Descendants

• → Urdu: گاو‎ (gāv, gāo)

Urdu

Etymology

From Classical Persian گاو‎ (gāw, “cow”), from Middle Persian [script needed] (TWRA /⁠gāw⁠/), from Old Persian [Term?] (/⁠gaua⁠/), from Proto-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gāuš (“cow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow, cattle”).

Cognate with Pashto غوا‎ (ǧwâ), Punjabi گاں‎ (gāṉ), Kashmiri گاو‎ (gāv), Wakhi ږوْؤ‎ (ɣɨu), Yagnobi ғов (γow), Bactrian γαοι (gāw), Khotanese 𐨒𐨂𐨌𐨱𐨌‎ (gūhā), and Avestan 𐬔𐬀𐬊‎ (gao).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

گاو • (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

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