Word origins

• AfghanistanA landlocked country between Central Asia and South Asia. Official name: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Capital and largest city: Kabul.
• afghanA native or inhabitant of Afghanistan.
• calenderA machine, used for the purpose of giving cloth, paper etc., a smooth, even, and glossy or glazed surface, by cold or hot pressure, or for watering them and giving them a wavy appearance; it consists of two or more cylinders revolving nearly in contact, with the necessary apparatus for moving and regulating.
• KabulThe capital and largest city of Afghanistan.
• PunjabiOf, pertaining to, descended from the people or culture of the Punjab, or written in the Punjabi language.
• KurdistanA cultural region in West Asia inhabited mostly by the Kurds, encompassing parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
• bakuA type of supernatural being said to devour nightmares.
• parsA province and historical region in southwestern Iran, homeland of the Persians; known to the ancient Greeks as Περσίς (Persís) or Περσική (Persikḗ), to the Romans as Persis or Persia, and to the Arabs as فَارِس (fāris).
• dariSynonym of sorghum.
• AllahabadFormer name of Prayagraj, a city and its encompassing district in Uttar Pradesh, India.
• afghaniThe monetary currency of Afghanistan, divided into 100 pul.
• hakimA doctor, usually practicing traditional medicine.
• ganjaMarijuana, the inflorescence of the Cannabis sativa plant, smoked or ingested for euphoric effect.
• HeratA city, the capital of Herat province, Afghanistan, dating back to Avestan times.
• TuranA nomadic people of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
• begumTo daub or cover with gum.
• UsmanA male given name from Arabic.
• ParsiA member of the larger and older of the two Zoroastrian communities of the Indian subcontinent (the other community being that of the Iranis).
• bulbulAny of several passerine songbirds, of the family Pycnonotidae (currently, 27 genera recognized), native to Africa and Eurasia.
• BukharaThe regional capital of the Bukhara region, Uzbekistan, founded in the 6th century BCE.
• tomanA division of 10,000 men in the Mongolian army.
• abbasiA surname from Persian
• yabooAn Afghan pony used as a beast of burden.
• YazdA city in Iran, the seat of Yazd County's Central District and the capital of Yazd Province.
• shahiA former currency unit of Iran, worth one twentieth of a qiran.
• ParveenA female given name.
• naatpoetry in praise of the prophet Muhammad
• KhawajaA surname from Persian.
• UnaniA form of traditional medicine practiced in the Middle East and South Asian countries, based on the concept of the four humours: phlegm, blood, yellow bile, and black bile.
• FerghanaThe regional capital of the Ferghana region, Uzbekistan.
• RegistanA public square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
• BalkhA town in Balkh, province of Afghanistan, historically an ancient city and centre of Buddhism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism and capital of Bactria.
• sahariSynonym of suhur.
• ChishtiBelonging to the Chishti order.
• GulistanA thirteenth-century prosimetrum in Persian written by Sa'di
• ZabulA province of Afghanistan.
• WardakA province of Afghanistan.
• NazaninA female given name from Persian.
• PaktikaA province of Afghanistan.
• ShirvanA historical region of the eastern Caucasus, historically Persian and now in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
• AfrasiabA mythical king and hero of Turan.
• aftabaA Persian ewer.
• AimaqA member of a collection of Sunni and mostly Persian-speaking nomadic and seminomadic tribes, found mainly in the central and western highlands of Afghanistan.
• akhundA spiritual leader in Persia, parts of Central Asia and Xinjiang, China.
• Ayyám-i-HáA period lasting four or five days before the last month of the Baháʼí calendar, celebrated by Baháʼí Faith believers as a festival.
• BábʻAlí Muḥammad (1820–1850), the founder of Bábism.
• BábíOf or pertaining to Bábism.
• BaháʼíA follower of the Baháʼí Faith.
• Baháʼu'lláhA title given to Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí (1817–1892), Persian religious leader, prophet-founder of the Baháʼí Faith.
• buzkashiA team sport originating in Central Asia, where the players, all on horseback, try to place an animal carcass into a goal.
• chaikhanaA teahouse in parts of Central Asia.
• dasturA Zoroastrian high priest ranking above a mobad or herbad.
• DaykundiA province of Afghanistan.
• FarsistanFars, Persia proper, a province of Iran that is the historical homeland of the Persians.
• girihDecorative Islamic geometric patterns used in architecture and handicrafts, consisting of angled lines that form an interlaced strapwork.
• goshtmutton (or sometimes goat), normally as part of a South Asian curry.
• Haft SeenA traditional table setting of Nowruz comprising several symbolic items.
• HakhamanishiSynonym of Achaemenid
• herbadA Zoroastrian priest of a minor order.
• heykelThe chancel or sanctuary of a Coptic church.
• Hindu KohSynonym of Hindu Kush
• IspahanA city in Iran, the seat of Isfahan County's Central District and the capital of Isfahan Province, the third largest city of Iran; the former capital of Iran, from 1598–1736
• KarakhanidOf or relating to this language or the people who speak it.
• kashidaA type of justification used in some cursive scripts, particularly (Perso)-Arabic, where characters are elongated like a string rather than separated by spaces.
• khalatA type of native gown worn in parts of Central Asia, historically awarded as a robe of honor.
• KhwarazmshahA title borne by mediaeval rulers of Khwarazm.
• koftaAny of various spicy meatball or meatloaf dishes of the Middle East, Caucasus, South Asia, and the Balkans.
• Koh-i-NoorAny very large and valuable diamond.
• majhulA vowel phoneme that does not have a phonemic equivalent in Classical Arabic.
• marsiyaan elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain ibn Ali and his comrades of the Karbala' in the Battle of Karbala
• ma'rufA vowel phoneme that is phonemically equivalent to a vowel in Classical Arabic.
• Mazar-i-SharifA city, the provincial capital of Balkh Province, Afghanistan.
• mobadA Zoroastrian cleric of a particular rank, qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the Yasna ceremony and to train other priests.
• NastaliqA form of Arabic calligraphy mostly used for Persian and languages it has influenced, including Urdu and Ottoman Turkish.
• Nava'iThe pen-name of Nizam al-Din Alisher Harawi (1441–1501), a Timurid poet.
• ParsistanSynonym of Pars
• ParwanA province of Afghanistan.
• PaymonA transliteration of the Persian male given name پیمان (peymân).
• pesh-kabzSynonym of Khyber knife.
• posteenA sheepskin cloak.
• qalandarA wandering ascetic Sufi dervish.
• qamaA Persian shortsword.
• radifThe word which must end both lines of the first couplet and the second line of all the following couplets in a Persian, Turkic or Urdu ghazal.
• santurA type of hammered dulcimer played in Persian music
• seekh kebabA dish from (Anglo-)Indian cuisine consisting of a mixture of minced meat (usually lamb), garlic and spices thinly wrapped around a skewer and grilled, usually in a tandoor.
• shahanshahKing of kings; a title given to the rulers of ancient Persia and sometimes of Armenia.
• shahbanuThe consort of a shah.
• ShahjahanabadSynonym of Old Delhi.
• ShahrisabzA city in Uzbekistan.
• ShahryarName of the fictional Persian Sassanid King of Kings married to Scheherazade in the story One Thousand and One Nights.
• shahzadaThe son of a shah.
• shamshirA Persian curved blade without a pommel.
• shashmaqamA Central Asian musical genre popular in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
• Shikasta Nasta'liqA form of Perso-Arabic script calligraphy used for Persian and Urdu.
• ShirvanshahA title borne by mediaeval rulers of Shirvan.
• Subh-i-AzalA title given to Mirza Yahya (1831–1912), the founder of Azalism
• TabaristanA former region on the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea.
• takhtrawanA covered litter carried by a pair of animals.
• takyaA gathering place for Sufis, especially in the Ottoman Empire and South Asia.
• TokharistanA historical region of Central Asia, corresponding largely to ancient Bactria.