# نیام
## Persian
### Etymology

Inherited from Middle Persian 𐫗𐫏𐫏𐫀𐫖 (nyyʾm), 𐫗𐫏𐫀𐫖 (nyʾm /⁠niyām⁠/). Based on an Old Persian *nidāmān- (“covering, envelope”).
Cognate to Wakhi [script needed] (naẟün, “scabbard”) and Sanskrit निधानम् (nidhānam, “act of laying down, depositing, deposit; keeping; preserving; place where something is deposited or kept, receptacle”).
Also borrowed into Biblical Hebrew נָדָן (nāḏā́n) found in the Tanakh only in 1 Chronicles 21:27 and into Biblical Aramaic, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, Jewish Literary Aramaic, נִידְנַה (niḏnā), נִדְנַה (niḏnā), נִדְנָא (niḏnā), נְדָנָא (nəḏānā), לדְנָא (liḏnā), לְדָנָא (ləḏānā), later contaminated Classical Syriac ܢܺܝܡܳܐ (nīmā, “sheath”).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [ni.ˈjɑːm]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ni.jɑ́ːm]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ni.jɑ́ːm]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [ni.jɑ́ːm]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [ni.jɔ́ːm]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [ni.jɒ́ːm]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [ni.jɔ́m]

### Noun

| Dari | نِیام |
| Iranian Persian | نِیام |
| Tajik | ниём |
نیام • (niyâm)
* sheath, scabbard
    Synonym: غلاف (ğelâf)
** c. 1649, Ṣāʾib-i Tabrīzī, “On the conquest of Qandahār and praise of Shah ʿAbbās II”, in دیوان [Dīvān]‎:آری چو آفتاب کشد تیغ از نیام اول زند به قلب شب تیره روزگارārē čū āftāb kašad tēğ az niyām awwal zanad ba qalb-i šab-i tīra rōzgārYes, when the sun draws its blade from the sheath, It strikes first at the heart of the dark-fated night.(Classical Persian romanization)
* vagina
    Synonyms: مهبل (mahbel), فرج (farj), غلاف (ğelâf)

#### Derived terms

* نیامی (niyâmi, “vaginal”)
* نیام کیر (niyâm-e kir, “prepuce”)

#### Descendants

* → Classical Azerbaijani: niyam
* → Pashto: نیام (niyām)
* → Ottoman Turkish: نیام (niyam)
* → Urdu: نِیام (niyām)

### References

* Ciancaglini, Claudia A. (2008) Iranian loanwords in Syriac (Beiträge zur Iranistik; 28)‎, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, page 214
* Henning, W. B. (1977) Selected Papers (Acta Iranica; 14)‎, volume 1, Tehran and Liège: Bibliothèque Pahlavi, pages 131–132
* Horn, Paul (1893) Grundriss der neupersischen Etymologie (in German), Strasbourg: K.J. Trübner, page 238 Nr. 1063
* Lagarde, Paul de (1866) Gesammelte Abhandlungen (in German), Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, page 79 Nr. 200
* Nöldeke, Theodor (1884) “Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen mit einer kritischen Erörterung der aramäischen Wörter im Neuen Testament von E. Kautzsch. Leipzig 1884. VIII und 181 S. in Oktav.”, in Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen‎ (in German), page 1022
* Shapira, Dan D. Y. (2009) “Irano-Arabica: contamination and popular etymology. Notes on the Persian and Arabic lexicons (with references to Aramaic, Hebrew and Turkic)”, in Христианский Восток – Новая Серия, volume 5 (XI), Moscow: Издательство Российской Академии Наук и Государственного Эрмитажа, pages 177–178 fn. 86
* Wolff, Fritz (1935) Glossar zu Firdosis Schahname‎ (in German), Berlin: Reichsdruckerei, page 829b
* “ndn$^2$”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
* “ldn$^2$”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
* “nym$^3$”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–