بحران

Arabic

Etymology 1

Probably from Aramaic בחרנא (bəḥrānā, “test, turning point of disease progression, crisis”), from בְּחַר (bəḥar, “judging, testing”); compare Hebrew בָּחַר (bāḥar, “to choose, appoint”). Perhaps eventually a calque of Ancient Greek κρίσις (krísis). The Arabic lexicographers identified the word as foreign and considered it of Greek origin.

Lane instead theorised it to be from archaic البَاحُور (al-bāḥūr, “the moon”, literally “expanding, widening; being at the full extent, the furthest extremities”), from the notion of a sudden change of health being linked to the phase of the moon. Compare for this Ancient Greek σεληνιάζομαι (selēniázomai, “epilepsy; sudden drastic symptoms”, literally “moonstruck”), Latin lunaticus, and English lunacy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buħ.raːn/

Noun

بُحْرَان • (buḥrān) m (plural بَحَارِين (baḥārīn))

1. (now rare) crisis, panic

   Synonym: أَزْمَة (ʔazma)

2. (medicine) crisis

Declension

Declension of noun بُحْرَان (buḥrān)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	بُحْرَان buḥrān	الْبُحْرَان al-buḥrān	بُحْرَان buḥrān
Nominative	بُحْرَانٌ buḥrānun	الْبُحْرَانُ al-buḥrānu	بُحْرَانُ buḥrānu
Accusative	بُحْرَانًا buḥrānan	الْبُحْرَانَ al-buḥrāna	بُحْرَانَ buḥrāna
Genitive	بُحْرَانٍ buḥrānin	الْبُحْرَانِ al-buḥrāni	بُحْرَانِ buḥrāni
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	بُحْرَانَيْن buḥrānayn	الْبُحْرَانَيْن al-buḥrānayn	بُحْرَانَيْ buḥrānay
Nominative	بُحْرَانَانِ buḥrānāni	الْبُحْرَانَانِ al-buḥrānāni	بُحْرَانَا buḥrānā
Accusative	بُحْرَانَيْنِ buḥrānayni	الْبُحْرَانَيْنِ al-buḥrānayni	بُحْرَانَيْ buḥrānay
Genitive	بُحْرَانَيْنِ buḥrānayni	الْبُحْرَانَيْنِ al-buḥrānayni	بُحْرَانَيْ buḥrānay
Plural	basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	بَحَارِين baḥārīn	الْبَحَارِين al-baḥārīn	بَحَارِين baḥārīn
Nominative	بَحَارِينُ baḥārīnu	الْبَحَارِينُ al-baḥārīnu	بَحَارِينُ baḥārīnu
Accusative	بَحَارِينَ baḥārīna	الْبَحَارِينَ al-baḥārīna	بَحَارِينَ baḥārīna
Genitive	بَحَارِينَ baḥārīna	الْبَحَارِينِ al-baḥārīni	بَحَارِينِ baḥārīni

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: böhran
• → Classical Persian: بحران (buḥrān)
  • → Hindustani:

    Hindi: बोहरान (bohrān)

    Urdu: بُحْرَان (bohrān)

• → Middle Armenian: բուհրան (buhran), բուրհան (burhan), բուհրայն (buhrayn), պուրհան (purhan), պուհրան (puhran), պահրան (pahran), պոհրան (pohran), պոխրան (poxran)
• → Ottoman Turkish: بحران (buhran)
  • Turkish: buhran

Etymology 2

Noun

بحران • (baḥrān)

1. dual of بَحْر (baḥr)

References

• Freytag, Georg (1830) “بحران”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[1] (in Latin), volume 1, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 88
• Kazimirski, Albin de Biberstein (1860) “بحران”, in Dictionnaire arabe-français contenant toutes les racines de la langue arabe, leurs dérivés, tant dans l’idiome vulgaire que dans l’idiome littéral, ainsi que les dialectes d’Alger et de Maroc‎^[2] (in French), volume 1, Paris: Maisonneuve et C^ie, page 89
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “بحران”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[3], London: Williams & Norgate, page 157
• Wehr, Hans with Kropfitsch, Lorenz (1985) “بحران”, in Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart‎^[4] (in German), 5th edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, published 2011, →ISBN, page 67

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic بُحْرَان (buḥrān, “crisis”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [buh.ˈɾɑːn]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [bo̞ɦ.ɾɑ́ːn]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [bo̞ɦ.ɾɑ́ːn]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [bʊ.ɾɑ́ːn]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bu.ɾɔ́ːn]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [boɦ.ɹɒ́ːn]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [bɵh.ɾɔ́n]

Readings
Classical reading?	buhrān
Dari reading?	bohrān
Iranian reading?	bohrân
Tajik reading?	bühron

• Rhymes: -ân

Noun

Dari	بحران
Iranian Persian
Tajik	бӯҳрон

بحران • (bohrân)

1. crisis

   بحران اقتصادی ― bohrân-e eqtesâdi ― financial crisis

   بحران بدهی ― bohrân-e bedehi ― debt crisis

   بحران بین‌المللی ― bohrân-e beyn-olmelali ― international crisis

   بحران سیاسی ― bohrân-e siyâsi ― political crisis

Descendants

• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: बोहरान (bohrān)

  Urdu: بُحْرَان (bohrān)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian بحران (buhrān), from Arabic بُحْرَان (buḥrān).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /boːɦ.ɾɑːn/

Noun

بُحْران • (bohrān) m (Hindi spelling बोहरान)

1. crisis
2. delirium

References

• “بحران”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “بحران”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.