Parsee

or Par·si

[ pahr-see, pahr-see ]

noun

1. an Indian Zoroastrian descended from Persian Zoroastrians who went to India in the 7th and 8th centuries to escape Muslim persecution.
2. the Middle Persian dialect of the Parsee scriptures.

Parsee

/ ˈpɑːsiː /

noun

1. an adherent of a monotheistic religion of Zoroastrian origin, the practitioners of which were driven out of Persia by the Muslims in the eighth century ad . It is now found chiefly in western India

adjective

1. of or relating to the Parsees or their religion

Derived Forms

• ˈParseeˌism, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Parsee¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Persian Pārsī “a Persian; Persian language,” equivalent to Pārs Persia (from Old Persian Pārsā) + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of Parsee¹

C17: from Persian Pārsī a Persian, from Old Persian Pārsa Persia

Example Sentences

Nonetheless, the severely self-disciplined Englishman — as logical and dispassionate as Sherlock Holmes or Star Trek’s Spock — is repeatedly forced to break out of his shell, whether by rescuing Aouda, a rajah’s beautiful Parsee widow, or by risking the loss of his wager, as well as his life, by saving Passepartout from Sioux warriors, or, through that most common way of enlarging one’s horizons, by falling in love.

From Washington Post

The demonstrations are still mostly confined to the new citizenship law that fast-tracks Indian citizenship for migrants from neighboring countries who are Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Parsee or Jain — all of South Asia’s major religions bar one: Islam.

From New York Times

The legislation would create an easier path to citizenship for people of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsee and Christian faiths — but not for Muslims.

From Washington Post

The act creates a special path for citizenship for migrants from some of India’s neighboring countries if they are Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsee or Jain — in short, followers of any major religion in South Asia, bar one: Islam.

From New York Times

The new citizenship legislation, called the Citizenship Amendment Act, expedites Indian citizenship for migrants from some of India’s neighboring countries if they are Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsee or Jain.

From New York Times