What it means
شال (shâl) is a Persian-origin word for a large, wide piece of cloth worn draped over the shoulders, wrapped around the body, or placed over the head. Interestingly, the English word shawl was borrowed from Persian shâl, not the other way around. The word entered European languages in the eighteenth century along with the trade in fine Kashmiri wool. A shâl is larger and wider than a روسری (rusari), which is the everyday head-covering scarf, and is often made from warmer or heavier fabric.
How to use it
- شالم رو دور کمرم پیچیدم. (Shâl-am ro dowr-e kamar-am pichidam.) “I wrapped my shawl around my waist.”
- یه شال پشمی گرم دارم. (Ye shâl-e pashmi-ye garm dâram.) “I have a warm wool shawl.”
- شالت رو بنداز رو دوشت. (Shâl-et ro bendâz ro dush-et.) “Throw your shawl over your shoulders.”
- این شال خیلی نرمه. (In shâl kheyli narme.) “This shawl is very soft.”
Cultural note
Shawls woven in the Kashmir region were among the most prized trade goods on the Persian Silk Road routes. Fine Kashmiri shâl fabric reached the Safavid and Qajar courts and became symbols of status and refinement. European traders who encountered the cloth in Iran carried both the object and its Persian name back to France and England. Today in Iran, a shâl is a practical and fashionable accessory, worn by women as an alternative to a tighter head-scarf and by men as a winter wrap.