Jamshid - Etymology

Etymology

The name Jamshid is originally a compound of two parts, Jam and shid, corresponding to the Avestan names Yima and Xšaēta, derived from the proto-Iranian *Yamah Xšaitah. Yamah and the related Sanskrit Yama may be interpreted as "the twin," perhaps reflecting an Indo-Iranian belief in a primordial Yama and Yami pair that is however not attested in an Iranian context. By regular sound changes (y → j, and the loss of the final syllable) Avestan Yima became Middle Persian Jam, which was subsequently continued into New Persian.

There are also a few functional parallels between Avestan Yima and Sanskrit Yama, for instance, Yima was the son of Vivaŋhat, who in turn corresponds to the Vedic Vivasvat, "he who shines out", a divinity of the Sun. They differ however on several crucial points. For instance, Sanskrit Yama is a primordial man (accompanied by Yami, primordial woman), while in both Zoroastrian scripture and tradition this role is fulfilled by Mashya and Mashyana.

Xšaitah meant "bright, shining" or "radiant". By regular sound changes (initial xš → š (sh); ai → ē; t → d between vowels; and dropping of the final syllable) xšaitah became Persian shēd or shid. In the Western Iranian languages such as Persian, the vowel /ē/ is pronounced as /i/. Consequently, Jamshēd, as is pronounced in Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan is now pronounced Jamshid in Iran. The suffix -shid is the same as that found in other names such as khorshid ("the Sun" from Avestan hvarə-xšaēta "radiant Sun").

The modern Turkish name Cem is derived from Persian Jam.

The jam in 'Jamshid' is not etymologically related to the Persian homonym for "pure," which has another root. Persian jam also is the root of Arabic ajam.