Naan
/nɑːn/noun
A leavened, usually flat South Asian bread traditionally baked in a hot clay oven.
Did you know?The word naan entered English through South Asian languages, but its ultimate origin is uncertain; proposed connections to ancient Iranian and Indo-Aryan bread words remain unresolved.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Iranian period
Iranian
*nān-
“Reconstructed or proposed Iranian form associated with bread; the precise earliest source is uncertain.”
Middle Persian
Middle Persian
nān
“Bread.”
Classical Persian
Persian
نان (nān)
“Bread, especially a loaf or flatbread.”
Medieval period
Persian
nān
“Bread; the term spread widely through Persian cultural and commercial influence.”
Modern South Asian languages
Hindi/Urdu
नान / نان (nā̃n or nān)
“Leavened flatbread, commonly baked in a tandoor.”
20th Century
English
naan
“A South Asian flatbread; the spelling became established in English through colonial and culinary usage.”