Avestan
/əˈvɛstən/noun
Relating to the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, or to the ancient Iranian language in which part of them is written.
Did you know?Avestan survives mainly through religious texts, and its study has been crucial for understanding early Indo-Iranian religion, ritual language, and the ancient world of the Avesta.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
English
Avestan
“A scholarly term for the language of the Avesta and the culture associated with it.”
Middle Persian
Pahlavi
abestāg / apastāk
“The name for the sacred Zoroastrian text collection, the Avesta.”
Old Iranian
Iranian
*upa-stāva- / *upa-stāta-
“A proposed ancestral form connected with praise or recitation, though the exact prehistory is debated.”
Ancient Avestan
Avestan
avesta
“The sacred texts and liturgical corpus of Zoroastrianism.”
Modern English
English
Avestan
“Pertaining to the Avesta or its language.”