maidan

maidan · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-Iranian · derived from*mádʰyas
2. Proto-Iranian · derived from*madyānah
3. Arabic · derived fromمَيْدَان
4. Persian · derived fromمیدان“town-square or central place of gathering”
5. Hindustani · borrowed from
6. English todaymaidan

From Hindustani میدان (medān) / मैदान (maidān), and its source, Persian میدان (meydân, maydān, “town-square or central place of gathering”), from Arabic مَيْدَان (maydān), itself an Iranian borrowing (see the Arabic entry for more), from Proto-Iranian *madyānah, from *mádyah (“middle”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mádʰyas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos. Compare Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬜𐬌𐬌𐬀 (maⁱδiia), Sanskrit मध्य (madhya), Latin medius.

maidan · noun²

1. Ottoman Turkish · derived fromمیدان
2. Ukrainian · derived fromмайда́н“square”
3. English todaymaidan

From Майда́н Незале́жності (Majdán Nezaléžnosti, “Independence Square”) in Kiev, from Ukrainian майда́н (majdán, “square”), from Ottoman Turkish میدان (meydan), from the same Persian source as above.

First known use, by meaning

• from 16th c. A marketplace or other open space in or by a city or town; an esplanade.
• from 1993 Independence Square, the main city square in Kyiv, Ukraine.