ܡܰܪܓܳܢܺܝܬܳܐ [#] mrgnytʾ margānīṯā, margnīṯā 1. pearl; 2. host, a particle of the Eucharistic bread (plur.)
Derivatives: ܢܵܓܪܲܡ mrgn margān small pearls (cf. Arab. marǧān, murǧān id.); ܡܲܪܓܵܢܵܝܵܐ mrgnyʾ margānāyā similar to a pearl
The Syr. word is certainly connected with ManParth. mwrgʾryd, mwrgʾrʿyd /morγārīd/ pearl, which is a loanword from Gr. μαργαρίτης (Nyberg 134; Mancini 1985, 94 n. 64; Durkin-Meisterernst 2004, 234), but it was probably borrowed from Greek, and not from Parth., as seems proved both by the very old occurrences of the Syr. term, and by the form of the word: the vocalization of the first syllable and the voiceless dental plosive of Syr. mrgnytʾ seem to be nearer to the Greek form than to the Parthian one, which shows a high back vowel and ends in a voiced dental plosive. In mrgnytʾ we observe a normal dissimilation of r ... r > r ... n (see § 11.3.2). — Md. mʾrgʾnytʾ margānītā, plur. mʾrgʾnyʾ margānē (Widengren 1960, 94) ● mrgnytʾ pearl 1Par 29, 2; Ez 28, 13; Afr 104, 3; ES 1, 126E; JS in MS 2, 148 v 1107; host ESL 1, 313, 9; JE in ES 2, 30, 8; Joh Tell in Lamy diss. p. 64, Kays in JE Can 88; Bh Nom 36, 8; mrgn Kays 265, 3 (s.l.); mrgnyʾ Sahd 159, 2; see s.v. šhmrwryd and § 7 ◆ LS 402b; cf. PS 2215; PS Suppl. 200
Further Iranian forms of the word are MP morwārīd [mwlwʾlyt'] pearl (CPD 36; Nyberg 134); ManMP mwrwʾryd /morwārīd/ pearl (Durkin-Meisterernst 2004, 234); NP marvārīd pearl (Steingass 1219). The forms with -w- are SW, those with -g- are NW. Arm. LW margarit "pearl" is a loanword from Greek, according to Hübschmann (AG 363, 256), but Bolognesi (1960, 54) admits that Gr. μαργαρίτης may have been borrowed into Armenian through Parthian. Cf. also Müller 1894, 365; Widengren 1955, 149 f.; Gershevitch 1989.