Meanings
- historicalThe ceremonial capital city of Achaemenid Persia; its ruins in the present day.
In The Shah's Party, Templer narrows the lens to the extraordinary moment of the 1971 celebrations at Persepolis, where the shah staged a lavish commemoration of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy.
2026 June 13, Sanam Vakil, “Iran, a modern tragedy”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 8Synonyms: Chilminar
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe ceremonial capital city of Achaemenid Persia; its ruins in the present day.
Origin
- Ancient Greekπέρθω“to sack, to kill”
- Old Persian𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿“Persis, Persia, a Persian, Persepolis”
- Ancient GreekΠερσέπολις
- LatinPersepolis
- EnglishPersepolis
From Latin Persepolis, from Ancient Greek Περσέπολις (Persépolis), from Πέρσης (Pérsēs, “Persian”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 (Pārsa, “Persis, Persia, a Persian, Persepolis”) although ancient Greek writers relate a folk etymology that derived the city, country, and people's name from Ancient Greek πέρθω (pérthō, “to sack, to kill”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, Old Persian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Περσέπολις
- Περσέπολις (Persépolis)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Arabic بِرْسِيبُولِيس, تَخْتْ جَمْشِيد
- بِرْسِيبُولِيس (birsībūlīs)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
- تَخْتْ جَمْشِيد (taḵt jamšīd)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Bengali পার্সেপলিস্
- পার্সেপলিস্ (parśepolis)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Bulgarian Персеполис
- Персеполис (Persepolis)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Catalan Persèpolis
- Persèpolisancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Chinese Mandarin 波斯波利斯
- 波斯波利斯ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Esperanto Persepolo
- Persepoloancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Finnish Persepolis
- Persepolisancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
French Persépolis
- Persépolisancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Greek Περσέπολη
- Περσέπολη (Persépoli)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Hebrew פרספוליס
- פרספוליסancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Hindi पर्सेपोलिस
- पर्सेपोलिस (parsepolis)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Hungarian Perszepolisz
- Perszepoliszancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Italian Persepoli
- Persepoliancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Japanese ペルセポリス
- ペルセポリス (Peruseporisu)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Korean 페르세폴리스
- 페르세폴리스 (Pereusepolliseu)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Latin Persepolis
- Persepolisancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Persian تخت جمشید, چهل منار
- تخت جمشید (taxt-e jamšid)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
- چهل منار (čehel menâr)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
- پارسه (pârse)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
- پرسپولیس (perspolis)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Portuguese Persépolis
- Persépolisancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Russian Персеполь
- Персеполь (Persepolʹ)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Spanish Persépolis
- Persépolisancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Urdu تخت جمشید
- تخت جمشید (taxt-e-jamšīd)ancient city of Persia; its modern ruins
Cite this entry
Persepolis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Persepolis
“Persepolis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Persepolis. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Persepolis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Persepolis.
Source: Persepolis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.