Etymology

Compare Persian خوردن ‎(xordan, “to eat”). From Proto-Iranian *hwar- ‎(“to eat, consume”). Cognates include Kurdish xwarin (to eat) and vexwarin (to drink), Pashto خوړل ‎(khwaṟël, “to eat”), Ossetian хӕрд ‎(xærd, “food”) and Avestan 𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 ‎(xᵛaraiti, “to consume, eat”). Compare also Old Armenian խորտիկ ‎(xortik, “food”) and խորակ ‎(xorak, “kind of pastry”), Iranian borrowings.

Original meaning of the root was "to take". During the Proto-Iranian period it replaced the native Indo-European root for "to eat" *h₁ed- (>Proto-Iranian *Had-; compare Latin edō, Ancient Greek ἔδω ‎(édō), English eat), perhaps originally being used in a more informal way. The other root has been preserved in several nominal formations, such as Persian اسپست ‎(aspast, “alfalfa”) and Ossetian ад ‎(ad, “taste”).