گاو

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

Dari	گاو
Iranian Persian
Tajik	гов

گاو • (gâv) (plural گاوها)

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

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), Yaghnobi ғов (ġov), Bactrian γαοι (gaoi), 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

• 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”)