From Middle Persian spz, sbz (sabz, “green, fresh”), of uncertain origin.
Morgenstierne derives the word from an unattested form (*sapači-) and connects it, along with Pashto سابه (sābə́, “vegetables, greens”), to Ancient Greek κῆπος (kêpos, “garden”).[1]
Henning is skeptical of this, however, and relates the word to Parthian (‘spyxt, “radiant, verdant”), deriving both from Proto-Iranian *(H)spar(H)- (“to sprout, bloom, blossom”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pregʰ- (“to scatter, to jerk”);[2] compare Latin spargō (“to scatter, strew”), Old Irish arg (“a drop”), Lithuanian sprogti (“a bud, a shoot”), Northern Sami sprygg (“active, brisk”), Old Norse freknur (“speckles”) (whence English freckle), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬀-𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬈𐬔𐬀 (fra-sparega, “twig, branch, something jerked off of a tree”), Sanskrit पर्जन्य (parjanya, “rain god, rain”).
Cheung does not consider Parthian (‘spyxt) to be descended from Proto-Iranian *(H)spar(H)-,[3] and instead derives it from Proto-Iranian *spaič / *spaiǰ (“to shine; to bloom”), which appears to be an exclusively Iranian root.[4]
Readings | |
---|---|
Classical reading? | saḇz |
Dari reading? | sabz |
Iranian reading? | sabz |
Tajik reading? | sabz |
Dari | سبز |
---|---|
Iranian Persian | |
Tajik | сабз |
سبز • (sabz) (plural سبزها (sabz-hâ))
سبز • (sabz)
سِفید (sefid) | خَاکِسْتَری (xâkestari), توسی (tusi) | سِیَاه (siyâh), مِشْکی (meški) |
سُرْخ (sorx), قِرْمِز (ğermez); زِرِشْکی (zereški) | نَارِنْجی (nârenji); قَهْوِهای (ğahve-i), بور (bur) | زَرْد (zard); کِرِم (kerem) |
سَبْزِ لیمویی (sabz-e limuyi) | سَبْز (sabz) | |
آبیِ دَرْیَایی (âbi-ye daryâyi); سَبْزِ دودی (sabz-e dudi), فیروزِهای (firuze-i) | لَاجْوَرْدی (lâjvardi) | آبی (âbi), سُرْمِهای (sorme-i) |
بَنَفْش (banafš); نیلی (nili) | سُرْخَابی (sorxâbi); اَرْغَوَانی (arğavâni) | صورَتی (surati) |
سَفید (safēd) | خَاکِسْتَرِی (xākistarī), فولَادِی (fōlādī) | سِیَاه (siyāh), مُشْکِی (muškī) |
سُرْخ (surx); قِرْمِزِی (qirmizī) | نَارَنْجِی (nāranjī); نَسْوَارِی (naswārī), بور (bōr), قَهْوَهیِی (qahwa-yī) | زَرْد (zard); کِرِیمِی (kirīmī) |
سَبْزِ لِیمُویِی (sabz-i līmūyī) | سَبْز (sabz) | سَبْزِ آبِی (sabz-i ābī) |
آبِیِ دَرْیَایِی (ābī-yi daryāyī); سَبْزِ دُودِی (sabz-i dūdī), فیروزَهیِی (fērōza-yī) | آسْمَانِی (āsmānī) | آبِی (ābī), آبِیِ تِیرَه (ābī-yi tīra) |
بِنَفْش (binafš); نِیلِی (nīlī) | سُرْخَابِی (surxābī); اَرْغَوَانِی (arğawānī), بَانْجَانِی (bānjānī) | گُلَابِی (gulābī) |
Borrowed from Classical Persian سبز (sabz), itself from Middle Persian spz, sbz (sabz, “green, fresh”). Compare Kashmiri سَبٕز (sabụz).
سبز • (sabz) (Hindi spelling सब्ज़)