GABR (gabrak, gawr, gaur "Zoroastrian"; gabr^, gabrak^ "Zoroastrianism"), aNew Persian term deriving, in all likelihood, from Aramaic GBR÷/gabra@ (lit. man), which in the Sasanian period was used to indicate the free peasants in the region of Mesopotamia (Stayermanova, II, 25.2.1). The term is used in all stages of New Persian literature from the earliest period (e.g., ˆa@h-na@ma, Moscow, I, p. 149; Bal¿am^, ed. Baha@r, p. 2; Sana@÷^, p. 368) as a technical term synonymous with mo@g@ (magus), or the obsolete a@taæparast (fire-worshipper), along with other religious denominations (e.g., Ru@m^, GÚazal^ya@t, p. 124). With the dwindling of the Zoroastrian community because of frequent proselytisations and the curtailment of their social rights, the term came to have a pejorative implication, which is the reason for its commutation to the respectable zardoæt^ (Zoroastrian) in recent times.

Several etymologies have been proposed for the term, none of which is convincing. Some scholars have suggested mog-mard/ mgw-GBR÷ (magus), which is, however, untenable, for the element GBR÷/gabra@, being an ideogram and a bound constituent of the compound, cannot appear in absolute form, nor may it be pronounced other than mard (man) in common parlance. The etymology suggested by Ebra@h^m Pu@r-e Da@wu@d, which has been received more favorably, is based on the supposed mispronunciation of the Arabic ka@fer (unbeliever) by the Persians in early Islamic Period. But, although Persians still fail to articulate some Arabic speech sounds properly, there is no unusual sound in ka@fer that would require phonetic modification. Moreover, although gabr has been sometimes used to denote infidel (ka@fer) by semantic extension (e.g., Ru@m^, Mat¯naw^ II, p. 287, v. 177; H®asan Ru@mlu@, ed. Nava@÷^, I, p. 384; Eskandar Beg, I, pp. 85, 87), ka@fer as a generic word could hardly refer to a specific revealed religion such as Zoroastrianism. It, therefore, seems likely that gabr, used already in Sasanian times in reference to a section of Zoroastrian community in Mesopotamia, had been employed by the converted Persians in the Islamic period to indicate their Zoroastrian compatriots, a practice that later spread throughout the country. The term has also been used by the Muslim Kurds, Turks, and some other ethnic groups in modified forms to denote various religious communities other than Zoroastians, sometimes even in the sense of unbeliever.

Bibliography: A. Bausani, "Gabr," in EI2 II, pp. 970-71. Borha@n-e qa@tÂe¿, ed. Mo¿^n, III, pp. 1773-74. Dehkòoda@, s.v. Grundriss II, p. 697. H®. Java@nmard, "P^ra@mu@n-e va@‘a-y gabr," Hu@kòt 14/11, 1342 ˆ./1963, pp. 21-22, 66. Jovayn^, ed. Qazv^n^, I, pp. 53-54, where the term gabr means idol worshipper. G. Lazard, La Langue des plus anciens monuments de la prose Persane, Paris, 1963, pp. 140, 195. M. Mohá^t T®aba@tÂaba@÷^, "Lafzá-e gabr moætaqq az ka@fer n^st," Hu@kòt 21/6, 1349 ˆ./1970, pp. 35-41. M. Mo¿^n, Farhang-e fa@rs^, 6 vols, Tehran, 1342-52 ˆ./1963-73, III, p. 3193. Idem, Mazdayasna@ wa ta÷t¯^r-e a@n dar adab^ya@t-e pa@rs^, Tehran, 1326 ˆ./1947, pp. 395-96. A. Pa‘u@h, "Sokòan-^ ±and dar ba@ra-ye va@‘a-ye gabr," Hu@kòt 14/10,1342 ˆ./1963, pp. 19-23. N. V. Pigulevskaya, Les villes de l'e‚tat iranien aux e‚poques parthe et sassanide, Paris, 1963. E. Pu@r-e Da@wu@d, Ana@h^ta@, Tehran, 1343 ˆ./1964, pp. 302-18. M. Qazv^n^, ed., "Moqaddama-ye qad^m-e ˆa@h-na@ma" in M. Qazv^n^, B^st maqa@la, 2 vols., Tehran, 1332 ˆ./1953, II, pp. 5-90. Jala@l-al-D^n Moháammad Balkò^ Ru@m^, GÚazal^ya@t-e ˆams Tabr^z^, ed. R. N. Nicholson, Cambridge, 1898. Idem, Mat¯naw^, ed. and tr., R. N. Nicholson, Text, II, Leiden, 1929. R. ˆahza@d^, "Va@‘a-ye gabr," Hu@kòt 14/8, 1342 ˆ./1963, pp. 21, 60. Abu'l-Majd Sana@÷^ GÚaznav^, D^va@n, ed. M.-T. Modarres Razµaw^, Tehran, 1320 ˆ./1941. F. Soru@æ^a@n, "Dar háaq^qat-e ma¿n^-e gabr," Hu@kòt 14/10, 1342 ˆ./1963, pp. 24-25. M. Shtyermanova, Vesmirnaya Istoriya (World history), Moscow, 1955.

(MANSOUR SHAKI)