کوشیدن

From Middle Persian (kwhš-ytn' /⁠kōxšīdan⁠/, “to strive; to struggle; to endeavor”), from Proto-Iranian *kawš- (“to fight, kill”) (whence also کشتن (koštan, “to kill”)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kawš-, from Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- (“to hit, strike”) with s-extension. Cognate with Central Kurdish تێ کۆشان (tê koşan, “to try; to strive for”), Northern Kurdish tê koşîn (“to try; to strive for”) and Gurani جە کۊشیای (ce küşiyay, “to try; to strive for”).

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کوشیدن • (kušidan) (present stem کوش (kuš))

1. (formal) to try; to strive; to endeavor

   Synonym: کوشش کردن (kušeš kardan)

   • c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 5”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Hafez]‎:

     هنگام تنگ‌دستی در عیش کوش و مستی
     کاین کیمیای هستی قارون کند گدا را

     hangâm-i tang-dastî dar ayš kôš u mastî
     k-în kîmîyâ-yi hastî qârûn kunad gadâ râ

     In times of pennilessness, endeavor in pleasure and drunkenness,
     For this elixir of being makes a Korah out of a beggar.

     (romanization in Classical Persian)

• Nourai, Ali (2011) An Etymological Dictionary of Persian, English and other Indo-European Languages, page 215
• Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 251-2