Dear Madhav,
just learning the Open.ai system, I asked Open.ai exactly the same as you did with Claude.ai.
This is the answer (which I cannot fully understand):
The Persian word jigar (جگر), meaning “liver”, has a well-established history within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Here’s the full etymological breakdown:
🔹 1. Persian jigar (جگر) – meaning: liver
In Classical Persian, jigar refers both to:
The anatomical liver, and
Metaphorical qualities like courage, passion, and deep emotion — much like how “heart” is used in English.
🔹 2. Etymology: from Middle and Old Iranian
Middle Persian:
The word appears as jigar (same as modern) or jekar.
Old Persian:
The word is not directly attested, but is reconstructed based on related Avestan and Indo-Iranian forms.
🔹 3. Reconstructed Indo-Iranian and Proto-Indo-European (PIE) roots
Avestan (East Iranian):
yakarə (liver) – a clear cognate.
Proto-Iranian:
Reconstructed as jigar or jakar, derived from an earlier Indo-Iranian form.
Proto-Indo-Iranian:
Reconstructed as yákṛt (same as Sanskrit yakṛt = liver)
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root:
*iék̂wṛ̥ → This is the PIE word for “liver”, and it gives rise to many cognates across Indo-European languages.
🔹 4. Cognates in other Indo-European languages
Language Word for "liver" Notes Sanskrit yakṛt (यकृत्) Exact Indo-Aryan match Avestan yakarə East Iranian cognate Latin iecur PIE root preserved (with changes) Ancient Greek hēpar (ἧπαρ) Different root, not cognate (likely non-IE origin) Old English lifere → liver Possibly unrelated, or influenced by metaphorical use ("life-organ")
🔹 5. Semantic development in Persian
In Persian and later Urdu and Hindi, jigar became highly metaphorical:
jigar-dil = “liver-hearted” → brave
jigar-pāra (lit. “a piece of liver”) = a beloved person
jigar khun hona (“liver bleeding”) = intense grief
This is cultural — just as the heart became the seat of emotion in European traditions, the liver was seen in Persianate culture as the seat of strong emotions, especially courage and deep love.
✅ Summary:
Jigar (جگر) is an authentic Iranian word, descending from Proto-Indo-European *iék̂wṛ̥ via Indo-Iranian *yakṛt.
It is cognate with Sanskrit yakṛt, Latin iecur, and Avestan yakarə.
The metaphorical richness of the word in Persianate cultures (courage, love, pain) is a later cultural development, not etymological.
Would you like a linguistic family tree of this word across Indo-European languages?
Am 08.08.2025 um 16:59 schrieb Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY:
Some interesting connections of the Persian word jigar to Sanskrit word taker for liver.
Madhav Deshpande
_______________________________________________ INDOLOGY mailing list INDOLOGY@list.indology.info https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology-- Dr. R. H. Koch - Germany/Sri Lanka www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com