# Persian: Constitution



## Zevzeksus

Hello to Everyone,

While studying the constitutional movement of Iran, I've noticed there were lots of common words used at that time in Iran and in the Ottoman Empire. However, I failed to find the Persian of the word "constitution". I'm wondering whether it's the same one that the Ottoman constitutionalists used? it's "kanun-i esasi" in Ottoman language (which if I'm not mistaken, has its roots in Arabic) does it sound familiar?

if it's so, do you also refer to the constitution of 1979 as "kanun-i esasi" as well?

Thank you so much in advance!


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## Alijsh

yes, we say *qânun-e asâsi*. even for the post-revolution (1979) one.


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## cherine

What about دستور ? Isn't it a Persian word?


Zevzeksus said:


> it's "kanun-i esasi" in Ottoman language (which if I'm not mistaken, has its roots in Arabic)


Yes, قانون أساسي is Arabic, it means the basic or main law. Though I think the word قانون qanun itself is a loan word.


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## panjabigator

What does *asâsi* mean?


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## Zevzeksus

panjabigator said:


> What does *asâsi* mean?


 
Esas means "base" or "core" in Turkish. I'm guessing that it also has the same meaning in Arabic, since cherine explained that "qânun-e asâsi*"* means basic, main law.

By the way cherine, a little off the topic, when I check the online Turkish etymological dictionary, it says that the Arabic word "qânun" is coming from the Ancient Greek "kanōn", meaning "rule" or "law". I think you were right about saying that it's a loan word.


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## alex.raf

cherine said:


> What about دستور ? Isn't it a Persian word?


Yes, it's a Persian word. It mostly means *Command *in today's Persian.


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## Alijsh

panjabigator said:


> What does *asâsi* mean?


it means fundamental. also: basic; radical, depending on its context


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## cherine

alex.raf said:


> Yes, it's a Persian word. It mostly means *Command *in today's Persian.


Thanks  
Is it a verb or a noun? and would you transliterate it please?



Alijsh said:


> it means fundamental. also: basic; radical, depending on its context


Yes, I think fundamental is the best word in this context 


One more question: Was the word دستور (we pronounce it, in Arabic, as dustúr) ever used in Persian to mean constitution?


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## alex.raf

cherine said:


> Thanks
> Is it a verb or a noun? and would you transliterate it please?
> 
> 
> Yes, I think fundamental is the best word in this context
> 
> 
> One more question: Was the word دستور (we pronounce it, in Arabic, as dustúr) ever used in Persian to mean constitution?



It's a noun.
I looked it up in dictionary and found the meaning *Qānun *(قانون) for it and as it seems this meaning was used as constitution in Arabic.
As I said before, in Persian it uses as English *Command* (n).
BTW another usage in today's Persian is *Dastooreh Zabān* (دستور زبان) which means *Grammar* and literally means Law of Language.


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## min300

cherine said:


> Thanks
> 
> One more question: Was the word دستور (we pronounce it, in Arabic, as dustúr) ever used in Persian to mean constitution?



Hi Chirine,

As far as I know we don't use دستور to mean constitution. It means " order" in Persian. I agree with alex.raf about " دستور زبان" which means grammar.  
we also use " دستور العمل" which means " instruction"  and I think It's one of those pure Arabic words (even with Arabic witting rules) in Farsi.


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## Alijsh

cherine said:


> One more question: Was the word دستور (we pronounce it, in Arabic, as dustúr) ever used in Persian to mean constitution?


It can mean (it has more senses but I only mention the relevant ones)

1:minister, vazir (vizier). *dast* means hand and suffix *-ur* means having sth. so it literally means one having hand (i.e. power). This sense is obsolete. 

2: rule (qânun)
3: method

As Alex said, I think in Arabic it has found an extended meaning from sense 2.


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## Flaminius

I am wondering how general _mashrute_ is for "constitution" in Modern Persian.  Judging from a book titled _History of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution: Tarikh-e Mashrute-ye Iran_ (Kasravi & Siegel: 2006), it must have be the word for constitution back in the early 1900s.


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## cheshire

Flaminius said:
			
		

> it must have be the word for constitution back in the early 1900s.



Isn't "mashrut" a variation of shari'at (シャリーア)? It means "constitutional" or "constitutionality".  I think the word root is composed of three letters: _sh_, _r _and _'a_.

But "te" is used in "mashrut" and "ta" is used in "shari'at." They are in fact not related, aren't they? 

I think mashrut is a specific word for "constitutional/constitutionality" and "qanun" is a general word for any laws.

EDIT: I realized that the Persian "shariat" and the Arabic "sharia'" are spelled differently. I think I was right to write that mashrut and sharia' are sister words.

EDIT2: I think I know why "mashrut" is used in that book title. Since the adjectival form of "qanun assassi" is composed of two words, it's more convenient to say "mashrut*e*" (only one word).


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## Alijsh

Flaminius said:


> I am wondering how general _mashrute_ is for "constitution" in Modern Persian. Judging from a book titled _History of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution: Tarikh-e Mashrute-ye Iran_ (Kasravi & Siegel: 2006), it must have be the word for constitution back in the early 1900s.


Mashrute (مشروطه) is the name of a movement that put an end to autocracy and brought a constitutional government (which has parliament).

The Persian word for constitution (_law determining the fundamental political principles of a government_) is *qânun-e asâsi* (قانون اساسی) which literally means "fundamental law".


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## Alijsh

@cheshire

No, mashrute (مشروطه) is a feminine word (_in view of Arabic grammar or in Persian we have no gramatical gender_) from ش-ر-ط . whereas shariat (شریعت) is from ش-ر-ع. Mashrut means conditioned, conditional and I don't know why they picked such a word for their movement.


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## cheshire

So, مشروطه is like a proper noun, and couldn't be used for, for example, Japanese constitutional monarchy in Meiji era?


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