داشتن

داشتن is one of Persian's deepest native verbs, traceable to Old Persian *dā- ("to hold, to keep") via Middle Persian "dāshtan." The same root reaches into English place names through Indo-European: the suffix "dom" (kingdom, freedom) descends from a related root meaning "judgment" or "law-holding." In Persian, the verb's reach is enormous. Possession idioms include دوست داشتن (to love, "to have friend"), حوصله داشتن (to be in the mood, "to have patience"), حق داشتن (to be right, "to have right"), and خبر داشتن (to know, "to have news"). These compound expressions teach the student dozens of common Persian states without requiring new verb stems. Mastering داشتن is mastering a quarter of conversational Persian.