سار
سار (sâr) is the Persian word for starling, a medium-sized songbird with iridescent plumage. The word appears in classical Persian poetry as part of garden and bird imagery.
Glossary
شته
شته (shate) is the Persian word for aphid or plant louse, the tiny sap-sucking insect that damages garden plants. It is used in agriculture, gardening, and biology.
خرمگس
خرمگس (kharmagas) means horsefly or gadfly in Persian, a compound of khar (donkey) and magas (fly), referring to the large biting fly that torments livestock.
مگس
مگس (magas) is the everyday Persian word for a fly or housefly. It descends from Old Iranian and appears in classical poetry as a symbol of nuisance and insignificance.
شمشیرماهی
شمشیرماهی (shamshir-mâhi) is the Persian word for swordfish, a compound of shamshir (sword) and mâhi (fish), named for its long pointed bill.
میش
میش (mish) means “ewe” or female sheep in Persian. It is a native Persian word used in pastoral life and appears in the idiom گرگ و میش, meaning twilight, literally “wolf and ewe.”
بز
بز (boz) means “goat” in Persian. It is a native Persian word with roots in Old Iranian and is common across rural life, proverbs, and everyday speech throughout Iran.
ماهی قرمز
ماهی قرمز (mâhi-ye ghermez) means “goldfish,” especially the Nowruz goldfish on the Haft-Sin table. The compound blends native Persian mâhi with ghermez, drawn from Arabic qirmiz.
ماهی سفید
ماهی سفید (mâhi-ye sefid) means Caspian white fish, known as kutum. Both words are native Persian. This fish is the centrepiece of the traditional Nowruz-eve meal, sabzi polo ba mahi.
ماهی آزاد
ماهی آزاد (mâhi-ye âzâd) means “salmon” in Persian. Both parts of the compound are native Persian: mâhi (fish) and âzâd (free). The fish is valued for its rich flavour.