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Glite Dictionary
Gathic language

Gathic language

9.9
An ancient Iranian language people used to write the Gathas, Zoroastrian sacred songs
  • noun
  • Specialized
: idioma gático
  • Scholars study the Gathic language to better understand Zoroastrian holy texts.

Examples

  • The Gathic language is considered the oldest preserved Iranian language.

  • His research focused on the grammar of the Gathic language found in ancient manuscripts.

  • The Gathic language is crucial for understanding Zoroastrian texts.

  • Scholars study the Gathic languages to uncover ancient beliefs.

  • Scholars study the Gathic language to better understand Zoroastrian holy texts.

  • His research focused on the grammar of the Gathic language found in ancient manuscripts.

  • The Gathic language is considered the oldest preserved Iranian language.

Synonyms

Zend
vsGathic language
1 9.9

An ancient Iranian language used in Zoroastrian religious books

is limited to the most sacred hymns rather than including commentaries
Gathic
vsGathic language
  • Specialized
9.9

An ancient Iranian language used in the oldest Zoroastrian hymns

is identical in meaning but uses the longer phrase form
Avestan language
vsGathic language
  • Specialized
9.9

Ancient Iranian language used to write the holy books of Zoroastrianism

is narrower as it refers only to the most sacred hymns not all sacred texts
Zend language
vsGathic language
9.9

An old Iranian language used in Zoroastrian religious texts

is narrower as it refers mainly to the most sacred hymns not general religious texts

Surface Forms

Gathic language singular
Gathic languages plural

Morphology

Gathic + language

The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'Gathic' names the specific ancient Zoroastrian language and 'language' denotes a system of speech, so together they directly denote that particular language. This compositional pattern (proper-name/adjective + language) is cross-linguistically common and would be immediately clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Gathic language is named after the 'Gathas', a group of very old religious songs. Gathic means 'of the Gathas', so the phrase refers to the ancient Iranian language used to write those sacred texts.