Pahlavi Dictionary

A Concise: Pahlavi Dictionary

The need for even a short Pahlavi-English dictionary has been obvious for many years, particularly to would-be students of the language. The glossarial part of Proffesor H. S. Nyberg's "Manual of Pahlavi" is still eagerly awaited, five years after the publication of Part I, although the 'archaistic' tradition of transcription followed therein is no longer universally acceptable.  With the partial material at present available, every serious student still has to compile his own dictionary, a formidable task with Pahlavi and made more so by the plethora of different systems of transcription in print. The present dictionary, admittedly introducing yet another transcription, is intended first to relieve the stranger to Pahlavi of the necessity of covering what is now well-travelled ground -the commenest 4.000 simple words- without a unified map, and secondly to urge the practical value of this 'Sassanian' transcription for his journeying further. To have included etymologies and textuel references would have changed the emphasis of the work, turning it from a map to a historical atlas-cum-gazetteer, besides retarding its appearance unduly. Such a complete distionary of Pahlavi is nowhere within sight and must remain so until many more texts are adequately edited.

For this good counsel on what to include in the distionary I am most grateful to my friend D. P. Gignaux of Paris, for without him many common words would have slipped through my net. Most of the labour of compiling the English index, which will surely be appreciated, was undertaken by my wife. The debt I owe to the teaching of the late Proffesor W. B. Henning, in connection with Pahlavi and all things Iranian, cannot be expressed in words.

It is again a pleasure to acknowledge the support of the School of Oriental and African Studies in financing this publication, and the costumary skill of the printers.

D. N. M.
October 1969