# گاو
## Persian
### Alternative forms

* گاب (gâb), گو (gow), گا (gâ) (dialectal)

### Etymology

From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (TWRA /⁠gāw⁠/), from Old Persian 𐎥𐎢 (g-u), from Proto-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws.
Cognate to English cow, Urdu گائے (gāe) / Hindi गाय (gāy), Avestan 𐬔𐬀𐬊 (gao), Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs), Latin bōs.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [ɡɑːw]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ɡɑːw]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ɡɑːw]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [ɡäw]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [ɡäw]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [ɡ̥ɒːv]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [ɡɔw]
* (Iran, some dialects) IPA: /ɡow/

### Noun

گاو • (gâv) (plural گاوها (gâv-hâ))
* cow, bull, cattle
** c. 1260, Rumi, “5:3500”, in The Masnavi:او اگر دیوانه است و فتنه‌کاو، داروی دیوانه باشد کیر گاو.u agar divâne ast o fetne-kâv, dâru-ye divâne bâšad kir-e gâv.If he is mad and bent on mischief, the cure for a madman is an ox-hide whip.(Reynold A. Nicholson translation)
* (astronomy) the constellation Taurus
** 1192, Nizami Ganjavi, “Layla and Majnun”, in Khamsa:گاو فلکی چو گاو دریا، گوهر بگلو در از ثریا.gâv-e falaki čo gâv-e daryâ, gowhar be-galu dorr az sorayyâ.the celestial Bull, like the cow of the sea, has on its neck gems, and pearls from the Pleiades.

#### Derived terms

* آبله گاوی (âbele-ye gâvi, “cowpox”)
* گاو دریایی (gâv-e daryâyi, “manatee”)
* گاو دوش (gâv duš, “milking vessel”)
* گاو چران (gâv čarân, “cowherd”)
* گاو چشم (gâv češm, “big eyes”)
* گاوآهن (gâv-âhan, “plow”)
* گاوسار (gâvsâr, “kind of mace weapon”)
* گاومیش (gâvmêš, “buffalo”)
* گاوی (gâvi, “bovine”)
* گل گاوزبان (gol gâv-zabân, “Echium plant”)

#### Related terms

* گمیز (gomiz, “cow urine”)

#### Descendants

* → Urdu: گاو (gāv, gāo)

### References

* ↑ Benjamin W. Fortson IV (2010) “Indo-Iranian I: Indic”, in Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, 2nd edition, page 203

### Further reading

* Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “گاو”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press

## Urdu
### Etymology

From Classical Persian گاو (gāw, “cow”), from Middle Persian [script needed] (TWRA /⁠gāw⁠/), from Old Persian [Term?] (/⁠gaua⁠/), from Proto-Iranian *gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gāuš (“cow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow, cattle”).
Cognate with Pashto غوا (ǧwâ), Punjabi گاں (gāṉ), Kashmiri گاو (gāv), Wakhi ږوْؤ (ɣɨu), Yagnobi ғов (ġov), Bactrian γαοι (gaoi), Khotanese 𐨒𐨂𐨌𐨱𐨌 (gūhā), and Avestan 𐬔𐬀𐬊 (gao).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /ɡɑːʋ/, /ɡɑː.oː/

### Noun

گاو • (gāv or gāo) m (Hindi spelling गाव)
* cow, bull, ox
    Synonym: گائے (gāe)
* cattle

#### Derived terms

* گاو پَرواری (gāv-parvārī, “fostering cattle, taking care of cattle”)
* گاوا گھی (gāvā-ghī, “cow ghee”)
* گَہْوارَہ (gāh$^á$vāra$^h$, “cradle, place of origin, place of birth”)
* گہوارہ جنبانی (gāh$^á$vāra$^h$-e-junbānī, “rocking cradle”)
* گاؤ کُشی (gāv-kušī, “cow-slaughter, cow-sacrifice”)
* گاوا گوشْت (gāvā-gošt, “beef, cow-meat”)
* گاو خانَہ (gāv-xāna$^h$, “cowshed, cattle-pound”)
* گاو پُشْت (gāv-pušt, “sloping like a cow's back, (metaphorically) the sky”)
* گاو پَیکَر (gāv-paikar, “bull-figured, one with a mighty build”)
* گاو زور (gāv-zōr, “powerful, mighty”)
* گاو خورد (gāv-xurd, “destroyed, ruinous, ruined”)
* گاوزوری (gāvzorī, “violence, brutality, wrestling”)
* گاو چَشْم (gāv-čaš$^á$m, “large-eyed”)
* گاو تَکِیَہ (gāv-takīya, “a long cylindrical pillow”)
* گاو دُم (gāv-dum, “cow-tail, anything thick on one end and thin on the other, slippery, sloping”)
* گاو دَبی (gāv-dabī, “mindless, simpleton”)