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”).
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”); 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)-, and instead derives it from Proto-Iranian *spaič / *spaiĵ (“to shine; to bloom”), which appears to be an exclusively Iranian root.
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)