# լավաշ
## Armenian
### Alternative forms

* լաւաշ (lawaš) — traditional orthography

### Etymology

A dialectal word, unattested in Old or Middle Armenian. Related to synonymous Middle Armenian լաւշ (lawš) / լօշ (lōš), whence լոշ (loš). The same word is found in neighbouring languages: Persian لواش (lavâš), Talysh ləvoş, Georgian ლავაში (lavaši), Turkish lavaş, dialectal loş (Malatya), Azerbaijani lavaş, Turkmen lawaş, Tatar ләвәш (läwäş), Northern Kurdish lewaş, loş, lûşe, Central Kurdish لەواشە (lewaşe), Zazaki levaş, lewaş, lawaşe, lebaş, lebaşe, lebaşi, labaş, labaşe, lavaşi, all referring to types of flat bread. Some of these may be borrowed from Armenian. Lavash is usually considered an Armenian bread. Ačaṙean reports that in Tehran it is called نان ارمنی (nân-e armani, literally “Armenian bread”).
Almost certainly ultimately of Semitic origin: compare Samaritan Aramaic ࠋࠅࠔ (lwš /⁠lūš⁠/, “dough”), Aramaic לַיְשָׁא / לֵישָׁא (layšā, lēšā, “dough”), Classical Syriac ܠܝܫܐ (layšā, “lump of dough”), Akkadian 𒇷𒄿𒋙 (/⁠līšu⁠/, “dough, paste”), Biblical Hebrew לַיִשׁ (láyiš, “dough”), and particularly Assyrian Neo-Aramaic ܠܵܘܵܫܵܐ (lāwāšā, “a flap of thin bread”), Hulaulá lawaša (“long pitta bread”), Lishán Didán lawaša, lwaša (“flat thin cake of bread”), plausibly also Punic 𐤋𐤅𐤕 (lawāṯ (uncertain quantities), “Etruscan honeysuckle”) due to its wound petals, all from a verb Proto-Semitic *lawaṯ- (“to wind, to wallow”) which means in the Aramaic languages “to knead”.

### Pronunciation

* (Eastern Armenian) IPA: /lɑˈvɑʃ/, [lɑvɑ́ʃ]
* (Western Armenian) IPA: /lɑˈvɑʃ/, [lɑvɑ́ʃ]
* Audio (Eastern Armenian):(file)

### Noun

լավաշ • (lavaš)
* lavash (a soft, thin flatbread made with flour, water, yeast, and salt, baked in a tandoor)
    Synonym: լոշ (loš)
* (figuratively) very long text

#### Declension

i-type, inanimate (Eastern Armenian) :
| | singular | plural |
| nominative | լավաշ (lavaš) | լավաշներ (lavašner) |
| dative | լավաշի (lavaši) | լավաշների (lavašneri) |
| ablative | լավաշից (lavašicʻ) | լավաշներից (lavašnericʻ) |
| instrumental | լավաշով (lavašov) | լավաշներով (lavašnerov) |
| locative | լավաշում (lavašum) | լավաշներում (lavašnerum) |
| | definite forms | definite forms |
| nominative | լավաշը/լավաշն (lavašə/lavašn) | լավաշները/լավաշներն (lavašnerə/lavašnern) |
| dative | լավաշին (lavašin) | լավաշներին (lavašnerin) |
| | 1st person possessive forms (my) | 1st person possessive forms (my) |
| nominative | լավաշս (lavašs) | լավաշներս (lavašners) |
| dative | լավաշիս (lavašis) | լավաշներիս (lavašneris) |
| ablative | լավաշիցս (lavašicʻs) | լավաշներիցս (lavašnericʻs) |
| instrumental | լավաշովս (lavašovs) | լավաշներովս (lavašnerovs) |
| locative | լավաշումս (lavašums) | լավաշներումս (lavašnerums) |
| | 2nd person possessive forms (your) | 2nd person possessive forms (your) |
| nominative | լավաշդ (lavašd) | լավաշներդ (lavašnerd) |
| dative | լավաշիդ (lavašid) | լավաշներիդ (lavašnerid) |
| ablative | լավաշիցդ (lavašicʻd) | լավաշներիցդ (lavašnericʻd) |
| instrumental | լավաշովդ (lavašovd) | լավաշներովդ (lavašnerovd) |
| locative | լավաշումդ (lavašumd) | լավաշներումդ (lavašnerumd) |

#### Related terms

* լոշ (loš)

#### Descendants

* → English: lavash
* → Russian: лава́ш (laváš)

### Further reading

* “lwš”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
* Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1973) “լօշ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume II, Yerevan: University Press, page 308a
* Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1979) “Haykakankʻ (Armeniaca)”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, volume IV, Yerevan: University Press, page 639
* Chyet, Michael L. (2003) “loş”, in Kurdish–English Dictionary‎, with selected etymologies by Martin Schwartz, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, page 359a
* J̌ahukyan, Geworg (2010) “լաւշ”, in Vahan Sargsyan, editor, Hayeren stugabanakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Asoghik, pages 292–293
* Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 305