گنجشک
گنجشک (gonjeshk) means “sparrow,” the small, cheerful bird found in gardens and streets across Iran. The word descends directly from Middle Persian winjishk, making it one of Persian’s oldest bird names.
Glossary
کلاغ
کلاغ (kalâgh) means “crow,” the intelligent black bird seen across Iran’s cities and countryside. The word is native to Persian, with cognates in Baluchi, Mazanderani, and other Iranian languages.
عقاب
عقاب (oqâb) means “eagle,” the large, powerful bird of prey. The word is borrowed from Arabic عقاب and carries a strong tradition of nobility and power in Persian poetry and culture.
جغد
جغد (joghd) means “owl,” the nocturnal bird of prey known for its silent flight and haunting call. Linguists trace the word to Sogdian, an ancient Eastern Iranian language.
خفاش
خفاش (khaffâsh) means “bat,” the flying nocturnal mammal. The word is borrowed from Arabic خُفَّاش, shared across Persian, Arabic, and Turkish-speaking regions.
شغال
شغال (shoghâl) means “jackal,” the slender wild canine common across Iran’s plains and forests. The word traces back to Sanskrit via Middle Persian, and gave English its own word “jackal.”
کفتار
کفتار (kaftâr) means hyena in Persian. A native Iranian word from Middle Persian, it names the striped hyena and its relatives, animals that carry a strong negative symbolism in Persian culture and proverbs.
یوزپلنگ
یوزپلنگ (yuz-palang) means cheetah in Persian. A compound of Turkic yuz (a hunting cat) and Persian palang (leopard), it names the world’s fastest land animal, once trained by Persian royalty for hunting.
پلنگ
پلنگ (palang) means leopard in Persian. A native Iranian word from Middle Persian origins, it names the powerful spotted big cat of the Alborz and Zagros mountains, today critically endangered.
گوزن
گوزن (gavazn) means deer or stag in Persian. A native Iranian word from Middle Persian, it refers to the larger, antlered deer species, distinct from the lighter gazelle called آهو (âhu).