A look at the word “golgasht”

Persian dictionaries and commentaries on Hafiz have enumerated some definitions of the expression “golgasht” that are not confirmed by old classical texts. In the present article, based on various indications, the authors will demonstrate that the word golgasht signifies “outing”, “recreation”, “sightseeing” and “rambling”. Thus, firstly, the initial segment of the word has nothing to do with “gol” weather in its literal meaning (flower, rose) or in its figurative sense (“pleasant”, “great” etc.). Secondly, golgasht in the compound “golgasht-e Mosalla” is not a place name but simply refers to a specific part of the “Mosallā”.In the second part of the article, by citing a number of dialectal instances, and based on certain historical changes in the Iranian languages, a new root for this expression is proposed.  In the authors’ opinion, the segment “gol” in golgasht is a variant of gard (the mozare’ base of “gashtan”) and that golgasht has originally been “gard o gasht” having a structure similar to such compounds as “gir o gereft”.