You might think that Persian, the language of Iran, is unrelated to English.
But Persian is an Indo-European language, and it developed from the same source as did Greek, Latin, English, and most other European languages. A number of common English words came from Persian, too.
Our word pajama came from the Persian words pai, “leg,” and jama, “garment”. In Iran, it referred to the trouser part of the garment only. Our word shawl came from the Persian word steal.
The name of the flower known as the lilac came from a Persian word that means “bluish”. The drink known as a julep got its name from a Persian word, gulab, that means “rose water.” Bazaar came from the Persian word bazar, “market.”
Persian also gave us the word checkmate, which is used in the game of chess. It comes from the Persian words shah mat, which mean “the king is dead”.
