نیمه

Persian

Etymology

Inherited from Middle Persian [script needed] (nymk' /⁠nēmag⁠/). By surface analysis, نیم (nim) +‎ ـه (-e).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [neː.ˈma], [niː.ˈma]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [niː.mǽ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [niː.mǽ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [niː.mǽ]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ni.mǽ]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [niː.mé]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ni.mǽ]

Readings
Classical reading?	nēma, nīma
Dari reading?	nīma
Iranian reading?	nime
Tajik reading?	nima

Adjective

نیمه • (nime)

1. half

   Synonyms: نصف (nesf), نیم (nim)

Noun

نیمه • (nime)

1. half

   Synonyms: نصف (nesf), نیم (nim)

   • c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume II, verse 607:

     همچو گاوی نیمهی چپش سیاه
     نیمهی دیگر سپید همچو ماه

     hamču gāw-ē nēma-i čap-aš siyāh
     nēma-i dēgar sapēd hamču māh

     (He is) like an ox, his left half black,
     the other half white as the moon.

Usage notes

• نیمه (nime) and نیم (nim) are both nouns meaning "half", but نیمه (nime) is obligatory before the ezâfe particle, hence always نیمهٔ (nime-ye) and never *نیمِ (*nim-e).

Further reading

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “نیمه”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim