رخشان

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Sogdian [script needed] (rwxšn /⁠roxšan⁠/, “bright”), from Proto-Iranian *ráwxšnaH, from Proto-Indo-European *lówksneh (“moon”). Doublet of روشن (rowšan), which was inherited.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ɾax.ˈʃɑːn]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [räx.ʃɑ́ːn]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [räx.ʃɑ́ːn]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [räx.ʃɑ́ːn]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [räx.ʃɔ́ːn]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ɹæx.ʃɒ́ːn]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ɾäχ.ʃɔ́n]

Readings
Classical reading?	raxšān
Dari reading?	raxšān
Iranian reading?	raxšân
Tajik reading?	raxšon

Adjective

رخشان • (raxšân)

1. (archaic) bright; luminous

   Synonyms: روشن (rowšan), تابان (tâbân), درخشان (deraxšân)

   • c. 1390, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ, “Ghazal 12”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Ḥāfiẓ]‎^[1]:

     بخت خواب آلود ما بیدار خواهد شد مگر
     زآن که زد بر دیده آبی، روی رخشان شما

     baxt-i xwāb ālūd-i mā bēdār xwāhad šud magar
     z-ān ki zad bar dīda ābē, rōy-i raxšān-i šumā

     This slumber-stained fate of mine shall perhaps wake up,
     For that shining face of yours has shed some water on my eyes.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Proper noun

رخشان • (raxšân)

1. a female given name, Rakhshan

Descendants

• → Urdu: رخشان (raxśān)

Urdu

Etymology

From Classical Persian رخشان (raxšān, “bright; luminous”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ɾəx.ʃɑːn/
• Hyphenation: رَخ‧شان

Adjective

رخشان • (raxśān)

1. bright; luminous; brilliant

Derived terms

• رخشانی (raxśānī)

References

• “رخشان”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “رخشان”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.
• Platts, John T. (1884) “رخشان”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
• “رخشان”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.