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Glite Dictionary
Avestan language

Avestan language

9.9
Ancient Iranian language used to write the holy books of Zoroastrianism
  • noun
  • Specialized
: lengua avéstica
  • The sacred texts of Zoroastrianism were originally written in Avestan language.

Examples

  • The Avestan language is essential for understanding Zoroastrian texts.

  • Scholars study the Avestan language to better understand ancient Iranian religions.

  • Linguists have found that the Avestan language shares similarities with other Old Iranian dialects.

  • Many scholars study the Avestan languages to learn about ancient Iranian culture.

  • Linguists have found that the Avestan language shares similarities with other Old Iranian dialects.

  • Scholars study the Avestan language to better understand ancient Iranian religions.

  • The sacred texts of Zoroastrianism were originally written in Avestan language.

Synonyms

Zend
vsAvestan language
1 9.9

An ancient Iranian language used in Zoroastrian religious books

focuses on composing the sacred texts themselves rather than commentaries
Avestan
vsAvestan language
  • Specialized
9.9

An ancient Iranian language used for the Zoroastrian sacred texts

is the longer phrase referring to the same language rather than the short name
Gathic language
vsAvestan language
  • Specialized
9.9

An ancient Iranian language people used to write the Gathas, Zoroastrian sacred songs

is the general language for Zoroastrian sacred texts, not only the Gathas

Surface Forms

Avestan language singular
Avestan languages plural

Morphology

Avestan + language

The phrase is fully compositional: 'Avestan' names a particular ancient Iranian tongue and 'language' denotes a system of speech, so the combined meaning ('the Avestan language') is directly derivable from its parts. The 'X language' construction is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand the MWE.

Etymology

Avestan language gets its name from the sacred book Avesta, because ancient priests used this old Iranian language to write those holy texts. So, Avestan language means the ancient language used for the Zoroastrian religion.