Farsi

/ˈfɑː(ɹ)si/

Farsi

English Noun Top 27,888

Definition

An argot of hijras, or catamites, in North India and Pakistan.

Etymology

Apparently first used widely in English in the late 1960s or early 1970s. From Persian فارسی (fârsi), meaning "relating to Fars", the Arabicized form of the name of the province of Pars (Early New Persian پَارْس (pārs)) which was adopted in Iran following the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century. The sense for the hijra argot is from Hindi फ़ारसी (fārsī) from the same word.