Persian

American  

[pur-zhuhn, -shuhn] / ˈpɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

adjective

1. of or relating to ancient and recent Persia (now Iran), its people, or their language.

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noun

1. a member of the native peoples of Iran, descended in part from the ancient Iranians.

2. a citizen of ancient Persia.

3. an Iranian language, the principal language of Iran and western Afghanistan, in its historical and modern forms.

4. Architecture. a figure of a man used as a column.

5. Persians. Persian blinds.

Persian British  

/ ˈpɜːʃən /

adjective

1. of or relating to ancient Persia or modern Iran, their inhabitants, or their languages

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noun

1. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of modern Iran; an Iranian

2. a member of an Indo-European people of West Iranian speech who established a great empire in SW Asia in the 6th century _bc

3. the language of Iran or Persia in any of its ancient or modern forms, belonging to the West Iranian branch of the Indo-European family See also Avestan Old Persian Pahlavi 2 Farsi

Other Word Forms

• pre-Persian adjective
• pseudo-Persian adjective
• trans-Persian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Persian

First recorded in 1325–75; Persi(a) + -an; replacing Middle English Persien, from Middle French; replacing Old English Persisc ( -ish ¹ )

Example Sentences

The U.S. could also fly boarding teams to ships from land, including from nations that border the Persian Gulf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Iran said no port in the Sea of Oman and Persian Gulf would be safe if its ports are threatened, The Wall Street Journal reported External link, citing Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

Brent-linked barrels from the Persian Gulf, Oman and the UAE suddenly carry a risk discount, he noted, as insurance costs for tankers transiting the Gulf have surged and some shipments have “simply stopped.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

The U.S. can track the movements of commercial vessels with surveillance tools, open-source data and military assets as they leave the Persian Gulf and exit the Strait of Hormuz, according to retired Navy Vice Adm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

The second is her sitting on a wooden stool weaving a Persian rug in the dark on a giant loom hidden deep in the cellar of their house.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri