The ''Dehkhoda Dictionary'' ( fa, لغت‌نامهٔ دهخدا) is the largest comprehensive Persian

encyclopedic dictionary An encyclopedic dictionary typically includes many short listings, arranged alphabetically, and discussing a wide range of topics. Encyclopedic dictionaries can be general, containing articles on topics in many different fields; or they can s ...

ever published, comprising 200 volumes. It is published by the Tehran University Press (UTP) under the supervision of the

Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute The Dehkhoda Lexicon Institute ( fa, مؤسسه لغت‌نامه دهخدا, Muʾassasa-ye Loghatnāme-ye Dehkhodā, meaning Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute) or International Center for Persian Studies: ICPS (مرکز بین‌المللی آمو ...

. It was first published in 1931. It traces the historical development of the Persian language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, as well as describing usage in its many variations throughout the world. The complete work is an ongoing effort that has taken over forty-five years of effort by

Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda Allameh Ali Akbar Dehkhodā ( fa, علی‌اکبر دهخدا; 1879–March 9, 1956) was a prominent Iranian linguist and lexicographer. He was the author of the Dehkhoda Dictionary, the most extensive dictionary of the Persian language ...

and a cadre of other experts. Although ''Dehkhoda'' covers a big part of literary terms and words in Persian, the first edition of it lacks most scientific and technology terms coined by the Academy of Persian Language and Literature during the past decades. However the newer editions cover them. Dehkhoda states in the preface of the first edition of the dictionary that "Not only does this book miss 2/3 of today’s entire Persian vocabulary, at least half of the words I knew were forgotten and not recorded in this book." Many of those words were added in newer editions published after his death. The newer editions have been published yearly by the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

. The original series initially consisted of 3 million records ''bargeh'') (up to 100 records for each word or proper noun) until

Dehkhoda Allameh Ali Akbar Dehkhodā ( fa, علی‌اکبر دهخدا; 1879–March 9, 1956) was a prominent Iranian linguist and lexicographer. He was the author of the Dehkhoda Dictionary, the most extensive dictionary of the Persian language pu ...

's death and currently contains 500,000 entries that according to the latest digital release of the dictionary by

Tehran University Press University of Tehran Press (UTP) (Persian: ) is a publishing house and a department of the University of Tehran in Iran founded in 1957. It is the largest university press in the Middle East. The press has published more than 5,000 titles in Pers ...

(version 3.0) are based on an ever-growing library of over 2300 volumes in

lexicology Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that analyzes the lexicon of a specific language. A word is the smallest meaningful unit of a language that can stand on its own, and is made up of small components called morphemes and even smaller eleme ...

and various other scientific fields. It was first printed in 1931. Dehkhoda was also helped by prominent linguists Mohammad Moin, Ja'far Shahidi, and Mohammad Dabirsiyaghi. The work became so significant that in 1945, a bill was proposed in the

Majles The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The ...

, signed by numerous members of the Iranian Parliament, including Mohammed Mossadegh, to allocate a special budget and staff to completing the project. Offices were provided for the task inside the compounds of the

itself, and later on, the entire project was moved to

College of Humanities, with additional staffing, where the Dehkhoda Institute was founded, and where it remains until this day.

References

The preface of the digital version of the ''Dehkhoda Dictionary'', release 3.0. Tehran University Press. 2006.

External links

Dehkhoda Institute & International Center for Persian Studies

''Dehkhoda'' in Jazirehdanesh (Persian)

Online version of the ''Dehkhoda Dictionary''

Dehkhoda Online Dictionary
{{University of Tehran 1931 non-fiction books Dehkhoda Persian dictionaries Iranian books

See also

References

External links