# سفیر
## Ottoman Turkish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic سَفِير (safīr, “ambassador”).

### Noun

سفیر • (sefir) (definite accusative سفیری (sefiri), plural سفرا (süferâ))
* envoy, representative, someone who represents others as a member of a legislative or governing body
    Synonym: مبعوث (mebʼus)
* ambassador, a minister of the highest rank sent to a foreign court to represent there his sovereign or country
    Synonym: ایلچی (ilçi)

#### Derived terms

* سقیر كبیر (sefir-i kebir, “ambassador”)

#### Descendants

* Turkish: sefir

### Further reading

* Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “sefir”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 4119
* Devellioğlu, Ferit (1962) “sefir”, in Osmanlıca-Türkçe Ansiklopedik Lûgat‎‎ (in Turkish), Istanbul: Türk Dil Kurumu, page 1114
* Kélékian, Diran (1911) “سفیر”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎, Constantinople: Mihran, page 682
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Legatus”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎, Vienna, column 930
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “سفیر”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎, Vienna, column 2630
* Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “sefir”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
* Redhouse, James W. (1890) “سفیر”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1063

## Persian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic سَفِير (safīr).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [sa.ˈfiːɾ]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [sä.fíːɾ]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [sä.fíːɾ]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [sä.fíːɾ]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [sä.fíɾ]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [sæ.fíːɹ]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [sä.fíɾ]

### Noun

| Dari | سفیر |
| Iranian Persian | سفیر |
| Tajik | сафир |
سفیر • (safir) (plural سفرا (sofarâ) or سفیران (safirân))
* ambassador
    سفیر کنونی بریتانیا در ایرانsafir-e konuni-ye beritâniyâ dar irânthe current British ambassador to Iran
* (historical) envoy, messenger
    Synonyms: ايلچى (ilči), پیغامبر (peyğâmbar)
** c. 1080, Nāṣir-i Khusraw, “Qaṣīda 106”, in دیوان ناصرخسرو [Dīvān of Nāṣir-i Khusraw]‎:قران را به پیغمبرت ناورید مگر جبرئیل آن مبارک سفیرqur'ān rā ba payğambar-at n-āwarīd magar jibra'īl ān mubārak safīrNo other than Gabriel, that blessed messenger, Brought the Quran to your prophet.(Classical Persian transliteration)
* (rare) mediator

#### Related terms

* سفارت (sefârat)

### Further reading

* Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “سفیر”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
* Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “سفیر”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim

## Urdu
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian سفیر (safīr), from Arabic سَفِير (safīr).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /sə.fiːɾ/

### Noun

سَفِیر • (safīr) m (Hindi spelling सफ़ीर)
* ambassador, envoy
* arbitrator, messenger
* mediator

### References

* “سفیر”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* “سفیر”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.