# سواد
## Arabic
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /sa.waːd/

### Noun

سَوَاد • (sawād) m (plural أَسْوِدَة (ʔaswida) or أَسَاوِد (ʔasāwid))
* (uncountable) blackness, black
* (uncountable or countable) an indistinct or unrecognizable figure; a shape; a silhouette; the shadow of a thing or an animal
    رَأَيْتُ سَوَادًا مِنْ بَعِيدٍ ― raʔaytu sawādan min baʕīdin ― I saw a shape in the distance.
* (uncountable) multitude (of people)
    سَوَادُ النَّاس ― sawādu n-nās ― the majority of people
* (countable, rare) the body of a human or an animal
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:ar:body
* (uncountable, dated) the backwoods; the countryside
    Synonyms: رِيف (rīf, “the countryside”), كَفْر (kafr, “a village”)

#### Descendants

* Maltese: swied
* → Persian: سواد (savâd)
** → Azerbaijani: savad
** → Kazakh: сауат (sauat)
** → Middle Armenian: սաւատ (sawat)
** → Kyrgyz: сабат (sabat)
** → Tatar: сәвәт (säwät), сәвад (säwad)
** → Uzbek: савод (savod)

### Proper noun

سَوَاد • (sawād) f
* (archaic, historical) Sawad, a fertile region in southern Iraq

## Persian
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic سَوَاد (sawād).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [sa.ˈwɑːð]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [sä.wɑ́ːd̪]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [sä.wɑ́ːd̪]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [sä.wɑ́ːd̪]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [sä.wɔ́ːd̪̥]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [sæ.vɒ́ːd̪̥]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [sä.vɔ́d̪]

#### Noun

سواد • (savâd) (plural سوادها (savâd-hâ))
* (archaic, literature) blackness (of hair, eyes, ink, etc.)
** Saadi Shirazi
    لبان لعل چون خون کبوتر -- سواد زلف چون پر پرستو(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* (archaic, literature) darkness (of night, etc.)
* (archaic, literature) innermost part (of heart)
* (archaic) draft, an early version of a written document
** Tarikh-i Bayhaqi
    استادم گفته سوادی کرده ام امروز بیاض کنند... گفت [ امیر ] نیک آمد.(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* (archaic) manuscript (hand-written document)
** Khaqani
    منم که گاه کتابت سواد شعر مرا فلک سزد که شود دفتر و ملک ورّاق .(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* (archaic) copy (the result of copying)
* (archaic, historical) Sawad, the fertile territory in southern Mesopotamia
* (archaic) countryside (rural area) (used both in singular and plural forms)
** Hudud al-'Alam
    و اندر وی [ اندر خوزستان ] رودهای عظیم و آبهای روان است و سوادهای خرم(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* (archaic, architecture) decorative facade in Sasanian architecture, such as that of Arch of Ctesiphon
** مرآت البلدان ناصری
    بالای این درگاه چهار طبقه پنجره است که از برای زینت جلو عمارت بنا شده و به اصطلاح بناهای این عصر آنها را سواد می نامند(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* literacy
    در تعریف سنتی سواد، توانایی خواندن و نوشتن است و یا توانایی به‌کاربردن زبان برای خواندنIn the traditional sense, literacy is either the ability to read and write or one's own ability to read
* being knowledgeable and competent

##### Descendants

* → Azerbaijani: savad
* → Kazakh: сауат (sauat)
* → Middle Armenian: սաւատ (sawat)
* → Kyrgyz: сабат (sabat)
* → Tatar: сәвәт (säwät), сәвад (säwad)
* → Uzbek: савод (savod)

#### See also

* باسوادی (bâ-savâdi, “literate, educated”)

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

سواد • (sovâd)
* an animal disease

### References

* Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “سواد”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
* Mo'in, Mohammad (1972) “سواد”, in Moeen Encyclopedic Dictionary [فرهنگ معین] (in Persian), Tehran: Amirkabir