- Farsi is defined as a modern Iranian language written in the Arabic alphabet, also called Persian.
Saying "salam" to greet someone is an example of Farsi.
Origin of FarsiPersian fārsī, of Persia, alteration (influenced by Arabic Fāris, Persia) of pārsī, from Middle Persian pārsīg.
- Popular use of the term Farsi in English is very recent; Persian is the older name of the language in English.
- Iran's Academy of Persian Language and Literature believes that Farsi is not an appropriate term to use for the Persian language in English. Some groups hotly debate the use of Farsi at all as an English word.
- ISO formerly called the language "Western Farsi", but now designates it as "Iranian Persian". Ethnologue calls the language "Western Farsi", but also gives the synonyms of Persian and New Persian.
Apparently first used widely in English in the late 1960s or early 1970s. From Persian فارسی (fârsi), from Fars, the Arabic name for the province of Persis (“Pars”) in southwestern Iran (Arabic lacks the sound ‘p’). That name was adopted by the Arabs and Persians to refer to the Persian language after the Islamic invasions of the 7th century.