wnpšk'

Middle Persian

Alternative forms

• [script needed] (vanafša)

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.

Bailey derives from the Iranian colour-name *van- (“blue”), comparing for it Khotanese [script needed] (banāte, “plum or pear”), Old English ƿann (“dark”) and Old Armenian վան- (van-, “crystal”). For the suffix -ap- he compares Latin cannabis.

On the other hand, Martirosyan proposes connection with Ancient Greek ἴον (íon, “violet”), earlier *ϝίον (*wíon), γία (gía, “ἄνθη”) = ϝία (wía), and Latin viola (“violet”), suggesting that "we might be dealing with a Mediterranean-Iranian/Near-Eastern flower-name" with a proto-form like *wion- which might yield Iranian *v(y)an-. He regards Iranian *-afš as a suffix of substrate origin comparable with -աւշ (-awš) in Old Armenian թեղաւշ (tʻeławš).

Some of the descendants (e.g. Old Armenian մանուշակ (manušak)) presuppose a by-form *manafšak.

Noun

wnpšk' • (wanafšag)

1. violet (flower)

Descendants

(Taking Middle Persian as representative for all Middle Iranian and including the descendants of the unattested by-form *manafšak:)

• Mazanderani ونوشه (vanūše)
• Persian: بنفشه (banafše)
  • → Avar: мана́рша (manárša)
  • → Azerbaijani: bənövşə
  • → Bashkir: миләүшә (miləwşə)
  • → Bengali: গুলবনফ্‌শা (gulbonoph‌śa)
  • → Central Iranian dialects:
    • Gazi: benapše
    • Kafruni: benewše
    • Kasha’i: benafša
    • Qohrudi: benawša
    • Sivandi: benafše
    • Vonishuni: benafša
    • Zefra’i: bönowše
  • → Gujarati: બનફશા (banaphśā)
  • → Hindustani:
    • Hindi: बनफ़्शा (banafśā)
    • Urdu: بنفشہ (banafša)
  • → Kurdish:

    Northern Kurdish: binefş, benefş, binevş

  • → Lak: банавша (banawša)
  • → Lezgi: бене́вша (benévša)
  • → Ottoman Turkish: بنفشه (benefşe), منكشه (menekşe), منوشه (menevşe)
    • Turkish: menekşe
    • → Albanian: menekshe
    • → Armenian: մէնէքշէ (mēnēkʻšē)
    • → Bulgarian: менекше́ (menekšé), мана́кше (manákše)
    • → Greek: μενεξές (menexés)
    • → Middle Armenian: մանօշայ (manōšay)
    • → Romanian: micșunea
    • → Serbo-Croatian: менѐкше, менѐкша, менѐвша, меневиш
  • → Sangisari: benafše
  • → Sarikoli: [script needed] (banafša)
  • → Sedehi: benafše
  • → Shahmirzadi: [script needed] (benafše)
  • → Tabasaran: беневша (benevša), бене́ш (benéš), бене́вш (benévš), бала́вш (balávš)
  • → Wakhi: [script needed] (banāfš)
  • → Uzbek: binafsha
• → Arabic: بنفسج (banafsaj), بنفشج (banafšaj), منفشج (manafšaj)
  • Andalusian Arabic: بنفسج (banafsaj)

  → Persian: بنفسج (banafsaj)

• → Classical Syriac: ܡܢܝܫܟܐ (mənīškāʼ)
  • → Middle Armenian: մանիշակ (manišak), մանեմշակ (manemšak)
    • Armenian: մանիշակ (manišak)
      • → Northern Kurdish: (Dersim) մանիշակ (manišak)
• → Old Armenian: մանուշակ (manušak)
  • Armenian: մանուշակ (manušak)
    • → Udi: мамушӏакӏ (mamuš:aḳ), мумушӏакӏ (mumuš:aḳ)
  • → Ossetian: ма́лусӕг (málusæg, “snowdrop”)

References

• Horn, Paul (1893) Grundriss der neupersischen Etymologie (in German), Strasbourg: K.J. Trübner, page 53
• Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1977) “մանուշակ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume III, Yerevan: University Press, page 256
• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 86
• Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 759
• Cabolov, R. L. (2001) Etimologičeskij slovarʹ kurdskovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Kurdish Language] (in Russian), volume I, Moscow: Russian Academy Press Vostochnaya Literatura, pages 115, 180
• Bailey, H. W. (1979) Dictionary of Khotan Saka, Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University press, page 268b
• Abajev, V. I. (1973) Историко-этимологический словарь осетинского языка [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] (in Russian), volume II, Moscow and Leningrad: Academy Press, page 69