ܢܰܘܣܰܪܕܳܐ nwsrdʾ nawsardā bunches of early dates
Allotrope: ܢܐܣܘܪܕܐ nʾswrdʾ; ܡܲܘܣܲܪܕܐܹ mwsrdʾ mawsardē first day of the year. Derivatives: ܢܲܘܣܲܪܕܝܼܠ nwsrdyl nawsardil, ܢܘܣܪܕܐܝܠ nwsrdʾyl the first Sunday of the new year; ܢܐܣܪܕܐ nʾsrdʾ nāsardē the first eight days of summer
According to PS Suppl., nwsrdʾ means "New Year, the rising of Sirius in July" and the derivative nwsrdʾyl indicates the first day of summer, kept on the seventh Sunday after Whit-Sunday; the Festival of the Twelve Apostles is held on this day. Hoffmann 1880, 59–60 n. 523 explains that the Festival of the martyrs, beginning on Whit-Sunday, lasts for the seven following weeks, and ends on a Saturday; on the following Sunday, named Nawsardil by Syrians, the festival of the Apostles is held. As to the meaning "first Sunday of the New Year", it presupposes a year beginning on the first day of summer (Hofmann, cit., quotes al-Bīrūnī, who informs us that the year begins on the day of the summer solstice among Sogdians and Chorasmians). Moreover, among Armenians on the first day of Nawasard (11th July) falls the Holiday of early fruits, particularly the bunches of early dates. Formally, the word nwsrdʾ is a compound: as to the first element, cf. Av. nauua- new (AirWb 1044), MP nōg [nwk'] new, recent (CPD 61; Nyberg 143); ManParth. nwʾg /nawāg/ new (Durkin-Meisterernst 2004, 246); ManMP nwg /nōg/ new, recent (ibid. 246 f.); NP naw id. As regards the second element, cf. Av. sarəd- year (AirWb 1566); OP θard-; MP sāl year (CPD 73; Nyberg 172 f.); Parth. sār; NP sāl (Steingass 642; Horn 153). The compound is also attested in Bactrian νωγοσαρδο, name of a month "New Year" (Sims-Williams 2000, 209), and in Chwarezm. nau-sarjī (Nöldeke 1888, 34). The loanword also appears in Arm. nawasard the first month of the Armenian year (Bolognesi 1960, 50; Hübschmann AG 202, no. 435); Gr. LW νέον σάρδιν (Joh. Lydus Hist. de mens. 3, 20, 8); Chald. LW nwsrdy (Lagarde 1878, 65) ● nwsrdʾ Hoffmann 1880, 59–60 n. 523; EN 51, 58; BB 1228, 19; nwsrdyl BO 3, 1, 598, 14; Cat MB 55b 5; Cat Wr 1, 185a n. 101; Sim anql 11–13; cf. Nöldeke 1879, 407 n. 3; Sachau Albērūnī chron., Engl. tr. 220 f.; nʾsrdʾ Ge ZA 26, 8; mwsrdʾ BA 5563; BB 1038, 8 ◆ LS 421a; 434b; 377a; Lagarde 1977 § 2232; PS 2326; PS Suppl. 208; Duval index pers. 227