الف

See also: ألف, الق, and ألق

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

From Arabic أَلِف (ʔalif).

Noun

الف • (elif)

alif
something shaped like an alif

References

Redhouse, James W. (1890) “الف”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 187

Persian

Etymology

From Arabic أَلِف (ʔalif).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʔa.lif]

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lɪf]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lɪf]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lif]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔæ.lef]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔä.lif]

Readings
Classical reading^?	alif
Dari reading^?	alif
Iranian reading^?	alef
Tajik reading^?	alif

Noun


Iranian Persian	اَلِف
Dari	اَلِف
Tajik	алиф

اَلِف • (alef)

alif (the letter , the first letter of the Persian and Arabic abjads)
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 1514:
  ما که‌‌ایم اندر جهان پیچ پیچ
  چون الف او خود چه دارد هیچ هیچ
  mâ ke-im andar jahân-e pič-pič
  čun alef u xod če dârad hič hič
  Who are we? In this tangled world
  What [thing other than He] indeed hath He [who is single] like alif? Nothing, nothing.
(figurative) something erect and tall like the letter
- c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 317”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Hafez]‎:
  نیست بر لوحِ دلم جز الفِ قامتِ دوست
  چه کنم حرفِ دگر یاد نداد استادم
  -nêst bar lawh-i dil-am juz alif-i qâmat-i dôst
  či kunam harf-i digar yâd na-dâd ustâd-am
  The tablet of my heart has nothing [written] on it but the alif of my love's figure
  What can I do? My master taught me no other letter.
  (romanization in Classical Persian)

Derived terms

→ Hindustani: alif
Hindi: अलिफ़

Urdu: اَلِف (alif)

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