Pahlavi

//ˈpɑː.(h)ləˌvi// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The principal gold coin of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979). historical
  2. 2
    the script (derived from the Aramaic alphabet) used to write the Pahlavi language wordnet
  3. 3
    the Iranian language of the Zoroastrian literature of the 3rd to 10th centuries wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    The Pahlavi script, a writing system derived from the Aramaic script and used to write several Iranian languages, the most common form of which was the Book Pahlavi. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    The Middle Persian language rendered in Book Pahlavi. countable, uncountable

    "Pahlavi literature traditionally defines the writings of the Zoroastrians in the Middle Persian language and Book Pahlavi script which were compiled in the 9th and the 10th centuries CE."

  3. 3
    A transliteration of the Persian surname پهلوی (pahlavi), born by members of the Pahlavi dynasty which ruled Iran in the 20th century. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
englishlanguagemiddle persianmiddle persianmohammed reza pahlavipahlavi language

Example

More examples

"Banisadr, who returned to Iran with the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini after the downfall of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979, was elected with the support of his mentor Khomeini in 1980."

Etymology

From Persian پهلوی (pahlavi, “Parthian, of or relating to the age of the Iranian heroes before Islam”).

Related phrases

Book PahlaviInscriptional PahlaviPsalter Pahlavimiddle persian

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.