GLOSSARY
Reading edition
Aivān A kind of portico, or roofed recess.
Anjuman Assembly, committee.
Arkhālūq Under-coat.
Bābī Follower of the Bāb.
Bād-gīr Air-shaft.
Bāgh Enclosed cultivation.
Behāī Follower of Behāu’llah.
Chādar Sheet; especially the cotton shawl worn over the head and whole body by the women.
Chārvādār Muleteer, or donkey caravan driver.
Dastūr Parsi priest.
Dīv Demon.
Farrāsh Literally a carpet-sweeper. Really a servant, chiefly outdoor.
Ferangī Frank, European.
Firmān Government order.
Islām Resignation to God. The name given by Mohammed to his religion.
Jazīya Poll tax levied by Mohammedans on non-Mohammedan monotheists living in their country.
Jin Genius; a being composed of fire.
Kajāva A kind of wooden pannier with a hood.
Khān A hereditary title.
Krān A coin worth about 4½d., the tenth part of a tomān.
Kursī Wooden stool. Especially one used over a pan of charcoal to support a quilt.
Lāla A spring candlestick with a globe.
Lūtī A rough; a bad character.
Man’ A weight varying in different towns. In Yezd it is about 13 lbs.
Manzil Halting-place.
Mazra’ A piece of cultivated land.
Mirzā Clerk, secretary.
Muballigh A missionary. The word is generally used of the Behāī missionaries in Yezd.
Mujtahid The highest class of the Mohammedan clergy.
Mullā A word very like our term “clerk.” It is generally used of the clergy, but it is sometimes a mere courtesy title, and sometimes means a man who can read.
Mussulmān, Muslim A believer in Islam. One who is resigned to God.
Nakhl A religious implement.
Nijāsat Ceremonial uncleanness.
Paighambar Message bearer, prophet.
Paighambarī Prophethood.
Qabā Outer coat.
Qalāntar Head-man. The title is used in Yezd for the head-man of the Parsis.
Qaliān Persian hookah.
Qan’āt Underground water-channel.
Raiyat Agriculturist, a tenant farmer who pays rent in kind. It also means a subject.
Rūza khānī Religious recitation.
Saughāt A traveller’s present.
Savāb Work of merit.
Seyid A descendant of Mohammed.
Shiah Nonconformist. However, there is a Shiah sect held orthodox in Persia.
Sunnat Ancient traditions and Commentary on the Quran accepted by the Sunnis.
Sunnī A member of the Mohammedan sect accepting the Sunnat, who are considered orthodox in Turkey, India, and Africa, as opposed to the Shiahs of Persia and elsewhere.
Taqdīr Predestination.
Taqīya Concealment of faith by denial in times of danger.
Tauhīd Assertion of the Divine Unity.
Tomān A sum of money, 10,000 dinars, equivalent to about 3s. 8d.
Yailāq Summer quarters, generally a village in the hills.
Zardūshtī Follower of Zardūsht or Zoroaster, the Parsi prophet.