English
para
Para comes from Serbo-Croatian pàra//па̀ра, from Persian پاره ‘torn, torn apart’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to give, provide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-‘to give, provide’reconstructed
- Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*pāraka‘gift, offering’reconstructed
- Persianc. 900–presentپارهpâre‘torn, torn apart’
- Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928same formpare, para
- Serbo-Croatianmodernpàra//па̀ра
- Englishearliest quotation 1854para
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-‘to give, provide’reconstructed
- Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*pāraka‘gift, offering’reconstructed
- Persianc. 900–presentپارهpâre‘torn, torn apart’
- Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928same formpare, para
- Serbo-Croatianmodernpàra//па̀ра
- Englishearliest quotation 1854para
Earliest quotation: 1854, Bayard Taylor, A Journey to Central Africa; or: “She managed things with so much economy that she…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to give, provide’
part, expert, empire, experiment, imperial, repair, preparation, parental, parcel, preparatory, parity, imperium, imperious, reparation, pare, 44 more
Another origin of para
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-‘to give, provide’reconstructed
- Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*pāraka‘gift, offering’reconstructed
- Persianc. 900–presentپارهpâre‘torn, torn apart’
- Urdumodernsame formpāra
- Englishtodaypara
Today it means
noun A former subunit of currency in several countries in the Ottoman/Turkish and Yugoslav regions.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- / para