Mashhad
/mæʃˈhæd/noun
A major city in northeastern Iran, and one of Shi'a Islam’s holiest pilgrimage sites.
Did you know?Mashhad is named from Arabic مشهد (mashhad), originally meaning “scene” or “place of witnessing,” and in Islamic tradition it became associated with the shrine of the eighth Shi'a Imam, turning a word for witnessing into a holy site.
Etymological Timeline
Arabic (early Islamic period)
Arabic
مَشْهَد (mashhad)
“a scene, spectacle, or place of witnessing”
Medieval Persian
Persian
مشهد (Mashhad)
“a shrine or holy place associated with a martyr’s burial or witnessing”
10th–15th Century
Persian
مشهد الرضا (Mashhad al-Riḍā)
“the shrine/city associated with Imam Reza”
Modern English
English
Mashhad
“the Iranian city and pilgrimage center”