Kurmanji ⇄ English · 180 terms · source-cited

Words carry a living tradition.

Search Yazidi religious vocabulary, oral genres, festivals, places, community terms, and everyday Kurmanji used in the tradition. Every headword has a stable page, a concise English definition, broad IPA, and transparent script-reading aids.

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Pre-publication reference set. The 180-entry launch dataset is technically complete; spellings and interpretive definitions still require the named Yazidi-affiliated or specialist reviewer required by the site’s editorial gate.

Alphabetical index

21 terms shown

21 matching terms.

Community & identity Audio later

Behdînî

Bahdini

A regional name for Kurmanji varieties spoken in northern Iraqi Kurdistan.

IPA
/bɛhdiːniː/
Arabic reading
بەهدینی
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

civak

society

Society, community, or organized social life.

IPA
/d͡ʒɪvak/
Arabic reading
جِڤاک
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

civat

gathering

A gathering, assembly, or group of people meeting together.

IPA
/d͡ʒɪvat/
Arabic reading
جِڤات
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

dîrok

history

History or a historical account.

IPA
/diːrok/
Arabic reading
دیرۆک
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

eşîr

tribe

A tribe or large descent-based social grouping.

IPA
/ɛʃiːr/
Arabic reading
ەشیر
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

Êzdî

Yazidi

The principal Kurmanji self-designation for a Yazidi person.

IPA
/eːzdiː/
Arabic reading
ێزدی
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

Êzdîkî

Ezdiki

A community language label used especially in parts of the Caucasus and diaspora; scholars often classify the speech as Kurmanji.

IPA
/eːzdiːkiː/
Arabic reading
ێزدیکی
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

Êzdîxan

Yazidi homeland

A cultural and political expression for the land or collective homeland of Yazidis; its scope depends on speaker and context.

IPA
/eːzdiːxan/
Arabic reading
ێزدیخان
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

ferman

persecution decree

Literally an order or decree; in Yazidi historical memory ferman commonly denotes a campaign of persecution or massacre.

IPA
/fɛrman/
Arabic reading
فەرمان
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

heftê û du ferman

seventy-two fermans

The traditional expression that Yazidis have endured seventy-two campaigns of persecution; it is a memory formula, not a closed archival count.

IPA
/hɛfteː uː dʊ fɛrman/
Arabic reading
هەفتێ وو دو فەرمان
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

kevneşopî

tradition

Tradition or inherited custom passed across generations.

IPA
/kɛvnɛʃopiː/
Arabic reading
کەڤنەشۆپی
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

koç

migration

Migration, departure, or displacement from one place to another.

IPA
/kot͡ʃ/
Arabic reading
کۆچ
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

Kurmancî

Kurmanji

Northern Kurdish, the principal community and liturgical language of most Yazidis.

IPA
/kʊrmand͡ʒiː/
Arabic reading
کورمانجی
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

malbat

family

A family or household-based kin group.

IPA
/malbat/
Arabic reading
مالبات
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

nav

name

A name, including a personal or place name.

IPA
/nav/
Arabic reading
ناڤ
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

qebîle

clan

A tribe or clan grouping; usage overlaps with eşîr and varies regionally.

IPA
/qɛbiːlɛ/
Arabic reading
قەبیلە
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

welat

homeland

Country, homeland, or native land.

IPA
/wɛlat/
Arabic reading
وەلات
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

xizim

relative

A relative or kinsperson; collectively, kin and family connections.

IPA
/xɪzɪm/
Arabic reading
خِزِم
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

Yazidî

Yazidi

A common international and Kurdish spelling of the community name; editorial contexts should declare which spelling system they follow.

IPA
/jazɪdiː/
Arabic reading
یازِدی
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

zarava

dialect

A dialect or regional language variety.

IPA
/zarava/
Arabic reading
زاراڤا
Full entry
Community & identity Audio later

ziman

language

Language or tongue.

IPA
/zɪman/
Arabic reading
زِمان
Full entry

How to read this lexicon

One canonical form, transparent aids

The lexicon separates sourced lexical content from mechanically generated reading aids. That distinction matters because Yazidi Kurmanji is written in more than one script and spelling practice is not uniform across Iraq, the Caucasus, and diaspora communities.

  1. 01
    Headword and meaning

    The Latin Kurmanji form is the editorial key. Definitions are concise syntheses checked against at least two category-appropriate scholarly sources.

  2. 02
    Broad IPA

    The IPA line maps the written Kurmanji form to a broad, stress-neutral reading. It is a pronunciation aid, not a recording or dialect claim.

  3. 03
    Script reading variants

    Arabic and Cyrillic forms are deterministic transliterations of the Latin headword. They are labelled “reading” forms and must not be mistaken for attested local spellings.

  4. 04
    Audio slots

    Every entry reserves an audio control, but no synthetic voice is substituted for a speaker. Recordings can be attached after speaker consent and dialect metadata are available.

Named authorities

Sources and verification

Definitions are editorial paraphrases, never copied qewl text. Individual entries show a smaller category-specific source set.

Philip G. Kreyenbroek and Khalil J. Rashow

God and Sheikh Adi are Perfect

Harrassowitz, 2005. A documented selection of Yazidi sacred poems and narratives with discussion of genres, performance, and oral transmission.

Geoffrey Haig

Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji)

Bamberg linguistic reference used for the Kurmanji sound inventory and the broad, stress-neutral IPA reading key.

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