# اسیر
## Burushaski
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [asiːr]

### Adjective

اسیر (asiir)
* near

### References

* Bechtholdt, Astrid (2025) “asiir”, in Burushaski Hunza Dictionary (Webonary), Dallas, Texas, USA: SIL International, published 2017.

## Ottoman Turkish
### Alternative forms

* یسیر (yesir)

### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic أَسِير (ʔasīr, “prisoner of war, captive”), from Proto-Semitic *ʔasīr- (“captive”).

### Noun

اسیر • (esir) (feminine اسیره (esire), definite accusative اسیری (esiri), plural اسارا (üserâ))
* captive, prisoner of war, one who has been captured by an enemy power during or right after a conflict
    Synonyms: طالاق (dalak), طوتساق (tutsak), كرفتار (giriftâr)
* prisoner, inmate, detainee, jailbird, a person incarcerated in a prison, while on trial or serving a sentence
    Synonyms: طوتساق (tutsak), محبوس (mahbus)
* slave, a person held in servitude as the property of another person, especially in regards to their labour
    Synonyms: طوتساق (tutsak), كوله (köle)

#### Derived terms

* اسیر ایتمك (esir etmek, “to make prisoner”)
* اسیر بازاری (esir bazarı, “slave market”)
* اسیرانه (esirâne, “servile, submissive”)
* اسیرجی (esirci, “slave dealer”)
* اسیرلك (esirlik, “captivity”)
* اسیری (esirî, “captivity”)

#### Descendants

* Turkish: esir
* → Armenian: եսիր (esir)
* → Crimean Tatar: esir
* → Serbo-Croatian: jȅsīr / је̏сӣр

### Further reading

* Barbier de Meynard, Charles (1881) “اسیر”, in Dictionnaire turc-français, volume I, Paris: E. Leroux, page 59
* Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “esir1”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 1484
* Hindoglu, Artin (1838) “اسیر”, in Hazine-i lûgat ou dictionnaire abrégé turc-français‎, Vienna: F. Beck, page 38b
* Kélékian, Diran (1911) “اسیر”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎, Constantinople: Mihran, page 94
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Captivus”, 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 150
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “اسیر”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎, Vienna, column 227
* Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “esir”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
* Redhouse, James W. (1890) “اسیر”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 116

## Persian
### Etymology

From Arabic أَسِير (ʔasīr).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [ʔa.siːɾ]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ʔä.siːɾ]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ʔä.siːɾ]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [ʔä.siːɾ]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [ʔä.siɾ]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [ʔæ.siːɹ]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [ʔä.siɾ]

### Noun

اسیر • (asir) (plural اسیران (asirân) or اسرا (asrâ))
* prisoner, captive
    Synonym: زندانی (zendâni)
* prisoner of war

## Urdu
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian اَسِیر (asīr), from Arabic أَسِير (ʔasīr).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /ə.siːɾ/
* Rhymes: -iːɾ
* Hyphenation: اَ‧سِیر
* Homophones: اَثِیر (asīr), عَثِیر ('asīr), عَسِیر ('asīr), عَصِیر ('asīr)

### Adjective

اَسِیر • (asīr) (indeclinable, Hindi spelling असीर)
* captured
* (figuratively) suffering; stricken
    Synonym: مُبْتَلا (mubtalā)

### Noun

اَسِیر • (asīr) m (formal plural اَسِیران (asīrān), Hindi spelling असीर)
* prisoner; captive (of persecution etc.)
    Synonym: قَیدی (qaidī)
* prisoner of war

#### Derived terms

* اَسِیرِ سُلْطانی (asīr-i sultānī)
* اَسِیرِ عَدَم (asīr-i 'adam)
* اَسِیرِ مَعاش (asīr-i ma'āś)
* اَسِیری (asīrī)

### Further reading

* “اسیر”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* “اسیر”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
* Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “اسير”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.