सपीद

Meaning

White; light-colored; bright (often coupled with black to mean worldly affairs).

Detailed Meaning

In Persian and classical Urdu poetry, 'sapīd' denotes the color white or brightness. It is most famously used in the compound or pairing 'sapīd-o-siyah' (white and black), functioning as a merism for the totality of fate, creation, or worldly affairs. In Mir's couplet, it represents the day-and-night continuum and the governance of life in which the speaker has no control.

Etymology

Persian (سپید / sapīd), poetic/classical variant of 'safēd' (سفید); cognate with Sanskrit श्वेत (śveta).

Usage

Frequently deployed in the ghazal tradition in the idiom 'sapīd-o-siyah' to evoke helplessness against the grand tapestry of human fate.

Examples

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Related Words