1
- a native or national of ancient or modern Persia (or Iran), or a person of Persian descent波斯（或伊朗）人; 波斯（或伊朗）国民; 波斯人后裔。
1.1
- （亦作Persian cat）a long-haired domestic cat of a breed originating in Persia, having a broad round head, stocky body, and short thick legs波斯猫。
1.2
- a sheep of a breed common in South Africa（南非的）波斯羊。
2
- mass noun the language of modern Iran, an Indo-European language written in Arabic script波斯语。亦称FARSI.
2.1
- an earlier form of this language spoken in ancient or medieval Persia古波斯语。
- of or relating to ancient Persia or modern Iran or its people or language波斯的; 伊朗的; 波斯人的; 伊朗人的; 波斯语的; 古波斯语的。
Persian (or Farsi) is spoken by over 30 million people in Iran, by about 5 million in Afghanistan (as Dari), and by another 2.2 million in Tajikistan (as Tajik). Old Persian, written in cuneiform and attested from the 6th century BC, was the language of the Persian empire, which once spread from the Mediterranean to India. In the 2nd century BC the Persians created their own alphabet (Pahlavi), which was used until the Islamic conquest in the 7th century.
词源
Middle English: from Old French persien, from Latin Persia, via Greek from Old Persian pārsa 'Persia' （modern Persian pārs, Arabic fārs）.