Iran
/ɪˈrɑːn/noun
A country in Western Asia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Did you know?The name Iran comes from the Old Persian form of the same root behind Sanskrit *arya-* and the old ethnonym *Aryan*, originally meaning “noble” or “freeborn,” long before later racial misuse distorted the word.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PII
arya-
“A self-designation meaning “Aryan” or “noble””
Old Persian
OP
ariya-
““Aryan,” “of the Aryans””
Middle Persian
MP
r n
“The name of the Iranian peoples and their land”
Modern Persian
fa
r n
“Iran, the name of the country”
Modern English
English
Iran
“The modern English name of the country”