What it means
گاودار (gâvdâr) is the word for a cattle farmer or cattle owner, a person who raises and keeps cows as their livelihood or main occupation. The word is a pure Persian compound: گاو (gâv, cow) plus the suffix دار (dâr), which in Persian indicates possession or stewardship of something. The same pattern appears in باغدار (bâghdâr, orchard owner) and گلهدار (gale-dâr, herd keeper). A گاودار may keep dairy cattle, beef cattle, or both.
How to use it
- پدرم گاودار بود و پنیر میفروخت. (Padaram gâvdâr bud o panir miforukht.) “My father was a cattle farmer and sold cheese.”
- گاوداران منطقه از خشکسالی شاکی هستن. (Gâvdârân-e mantaqe az khoshksâli shâki hastan.) “The cattle farmers of the region are complaining about the drought.”
- اون یه گاودار بزرگه توی اون روستا. (Oon ye gâvdâr-e bozorge tuye oon rustâ.) “He is a major cattle farmer in that village.”
- گاودار جوون داشت گلهش رو میچرونْد. (Gâvdâr-e javân dâsht gale-sh ro micheroond.) “The young cattle farmer was grazing his herd.”
Cultural note
Cattle farming has been central to rural Iranian life, particularly in the cooler highland regions of Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and the Alborz foothills where grazing land is plentiful. Traditionally, a گاودار family’s wealth was measured partly by the size of its herd, and dairy products like doogh (دوغ), kashk (کشک), and local cheeses were the main products sold at weekly rural markets.