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Mediocre imagination
From upcoming book: "Every English word is Derived from Persian"

By Korosh Khalili
April 29, 2002
The Iranian
 
There have been a spat of recent articles in the Iranian demonstrating links between the English and Persian languages [Linguistic connection, In other words]. I too have spent a very, very, very long time studying etymology and comparing English to Persian words. Here are some examples of English words derived from Persian which I have found, after a very careful study.

Gas = Gooz: The Aryans living somewhere north of the Caucasus were a race that was extremely aware of odors and aromas. They were not very good builders (since no one has ever found anything to prove their existence), but they had a very keen sense of smell, which is currently manifest by the
Iranian nose.

Although most Iranians know that alcohol was discovered by Razi (Rhazes), only a few realize that the gas butane (used as a fuel) was also discovered and named by Ibn Sina. He collected gooz from a number of his flatulent patients and separated its components, isolating butane. The English word butane (correctly pronounced boo-taan) is also Persian, derived from the compound word "booye tan" ie body odor. Ibn Sina became famous for this discovery, and that is why he is nicknamed "Boo" Ali Sina in Iran.

Car = Khar: The donkey, not the horse, was the Aryan's favored mode of transportation. While donkeys were not popular in England, the concept of the word khar (i.e. car), representing personal transport, was incorporated into their language.

Carwash = Khargoosh: The English use rabbit fur to wash their cars.

Car-crazy = Kharkaar: The English work exceedingly hard so that they can purchase a car

Carsick = Khar Zahr: Self-evident

Car-seat = Zin-e-Khar: The Word "seat" comes from Persian Zin (saddle)

Car-babe = Khar-Bache: And baby is bache

Car-parking = Khar-dar-chaman: As in parking your donkey in the field, just as the Aryans did

Muscle-Car = Maghze-Khar: As in you've got to be nuts to drive something like that!

One article in the Iranian appears correct in pointing out that the prefix AKH is the equivalent of Ex in English ("ex" in Latin must mean something else). Ex means something outside, or foreign, or bad. In colloquial Persian, one of the first words that a child learns is "AKHEH", i.e. it is bad. To the already published AKHEH list, I add:

Expectorant = Akhe-tof
Achtung = Ekhtaar: Which the Arabs must have taken from us!
Actor = Akhtar: Meaning star, as in a movie star

I won't give more examples as my publisher insists more would violate my copyright agreement. The enthusiasts among you may find many more examples in my upcoming book titled "Every English word is Derived from Persian", the second book in the series "Everything Worthwhile, Ever, Originated from Persia". However, so as to whet your appetite, and with tons and tons of research, I have translated the following stanza from Persian into English using the exact equivalent words:

Kaare har boz neest kharman kooftan
Gaave nar meekhaahad o marde kohan


English:

You too can be a self-taught linguist
All it takes is a mediocre imagination

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