# Etymology of Persian īraj



## mundiya

Ferdowsi's _Šāh-nāma _mentions a legendary Iranian hero named _īraj._ The _īr _of _īraj _appears to be from Middle Persian _ēr "Aryan", _but what is the origin and meaning of the _-aj_ suffix of _īraj_?

Thanks


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## Treaty

Please see this article (the etymology is in the middle), though it doesn't say what the ča ending means.
IRAJ – Encyclopaedia Iranica
I used to think it is _airya+ka_ = little/one of Aryan(s) gone through *ērik>*ērig>(Arab.) ērij> reborrowed in Persian. But it seems I've been wrong.


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## PersoLatin

There's also another male name _Turaj_, and based on observation, it appears to be the *Tur*āniān version of the *Ir*anian name.


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## mundiya

Thanks. I wonder what the meaning of the -ča (>-j) ending is for both _īraj _and _tūraj._


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## fdb

The Old Iranian suffix -iča- forms diminutives, like its descendant, NP -īza, but it can also be part of a name. An ancient example is *Asp-iča-, attested by Diodorus in Greek as Aspisas, continued by MP Aspiz. For *ary(a)-iča- one would expect *ēriz in Middle Persian and *aryiž in Parthian. New Persian ērij looks like a Persian-Parthian hybrid.


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## mundiya

Thanks. So is the Middle Persian _ērič_ mentioned in the article a Persian-Avestan hybrid, consisting of the inherited Persian _ēr _and the Avestan borrowing _ič _?


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## fdb

mundiya said:


> Thanks. So is the Middle Persian _ērič_ mentioned in the article a Persian-Avestan hybrid, consisting of the inherited Persian _ēr _and the Avestan borrowing _ič _?




No, it is just an erroneous transcription of the Pahlavi letters. Shahbazi is not an expert on old languages.


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## mundiya

Is _ērij _the correct Pahlavi transcription?


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## fdb

The letters are written as ʼylyč. They could be read either as ērij or ēriz. The script is ambiguous. If the name is genuinely Middle Persian only ēriz should be possible.


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## PersoLatin

fdb said:


> The Old Iranian suffix -iča- forms diminutives, like its descendant, NP -īza


Hi fdb, can you provide an example(s) of NP -iza please.


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## fdb

E.g. NP pākīza < MP pākīzag < *pāwak-īč-aka-.


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## mundiya

Should *pāwak-īč-aka be interpreted as having two diminutive suffixes (-īča and -ka)?


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## fdb

Yes, but both are so common as to have become virtually meaningless.


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## PersoLatin

fdb said:


> E.g. NP pākīza < MP pākīzag < *pāwak-īč-aka-.


MP dōŝizag/NP duŝizé must be another one. Considering dōsidan in MP means 'to love' and -iza is a diminutive suffix, I wonder if dōŝizag developed to mean unmarried/virgin, from something like 'small love/loved one'?


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## desi4life

fdb said:


> E.g. NP pākīza < MP pākīzag < *pāwak-īč-aka-.



What do the first two dash marks (-) in *pāwak-īč-aka- signify?


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## fdb

desi4life said:


> What do the first two dash marks (-) in *pāwak-īč-aka- signify?



Just to divide the word up into its components.


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## desi4life

fdb said:


> Just to divide the word up into its components.



Can the word also be transliterated as *pāwak-īča-ka- or is *pāwak-īč-aka- more accurate? It appears the īča suffix has survived in Modern Persian too, in words such as _bāɣīča _or _bāɣča_ "small garden", unless this has a different etymology.


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## CyrusSH

Iraj can simply mean "Iranian", in some Iranian languages, like Talysh, the suffix "-aj" is used to form nouns, so "Tehranaj" means a native or inhabitant of Tehran.


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