Lexical and Literary Notes (7): On Bāzabakand and Bāzafkan
Document Type : pajoohesh
Author
Ph.D. Candidate in Persian Language and Literature, University of Tehran
10.22081/jap.2026.80066
Abstract
This note examines two Persian lexical items denoting a type of outer garment or a particular component of clothing. The first is bāzabakand, a Persian loanword that appears in Arabic texts as the name of a particular kind of robe. The second is bāzafkan, a term found in the poetry of Khāqānī and apparently referring to a patch or piece of fabric sewn onto the back of a collar, possibly serving to widen the neckline as well. Drawing upon an occurrence of bāzabakand in the Dīwān of Abū Nuwās, especially in light of a gloss preserved in the margin of an early fifth-/eleventh-century manuscript of the Dīwān, as well as evidence from the writings of al-Jāḥiẓ, the article argues that the word should be pronounced bāzabakand. Consequently, readings such as bāzīkand and bāzbakand, which appear in some modern editions of Arabic texts, are shown to be erroneous. The term is interpreted as denoting “a shirt or outer garment with a broad collar” or, alternatively, “a garment furnished with a bāzafkan.” Evidence further suggests that such garments were commonly worn among soldiers and certain court officials. Finally, the article argues that bāzafkan and bāzafkand are etymologically related and both derive from the verb bāzafkandan (“to attach or spread out a patch,” or “to broaden a collar”), thereby illuminating the historical development and semantic relationship of these terms.
Keywords
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