Etymograph

English

surla

Surla comes from Turkish zurna ‘woodwind instrument’, and goes back to Classical Persian سرنا ‘zurna’.

  1. Classical Persianc. 900–presentسرنا1surnā‘zurna’
  2. Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928زورنا2zurnâ
  3. Turkish1928–presentzurna1‘woodwind instrument’
  4. Englishtodaysurla1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English surla
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Turkish zurna

Lineage

  1. Classical Persianc. 900–presentسرناWiktionary, English surlasurnā‘zurna’
  2. Ottoman Turkishc. 1300–1928زورناWiktionary, Turkish zurnazurnâ
  3. Turkish1928–presentzurnaWiktionary, English surla‘woodwind instrument’
  4. EnglishtodaysurlaWiktionary, English surla

The story

A variant of Turkish zurna (‘woodwind instrument’), from Classical Persian سرنا (surnā); see there for more.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Classical Persian سرنا

Today it means

noun —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “surla”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Turkish zurna. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Classical Persian سرنا / surla

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