A note on Pahlavi lexicography: Middle Persian hassār, hassārīh

Abstract This article deals with the identification and interpretation of two rare Middle Persian words. Firstly, some attestations of the as yet unrecognized word hassārīh are discussed, showing that it means “direction”. Then, a semantic analysis of its underived counterpart hassār is carried out, as a basis for an etymological proposal. Finally, it is argued that hassār descends from Old Persian * haçā-sāra- “(having the head) in the same direction”, and a possible reconstruction of the semantic development of the word is provided.