Farsang

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historical unit for measuring distance, equivalent to roughly three miles, commonly used in context of travel periods and routes in ancient times
2. An antiquated measurement of distance, approximately three miles, often referenced in the context of historical journeys over land
3. An old unit used for measuring distances, roughly equal to three miles, commonly applied in descriptions of ancient travel

Etymology: The Persian "farsang" was a unit of travel distance, roughly the amount a person or animal could cover in an hour or so on foot, and it came to English by way of a much older relative. Its close cousin is "parasang," the Greek form of the same Persian word, which the ancient Greek historian Xenophon used when describing the marches of armies across the Persian Empire. The two words are doublets: they descend from one Persian original but entered European languages at different times and by different routes, so each took on its own shape. "Farsang" is the form that came directly from Persian into English, where it has been used as a measure of distance in travel writing about Persia and neighbouring lands. Because the unit was never standardised across the region, its length varied from place to place, and English writers who used it were usually passing along a local distance rather than a fixed quantity.