Kurdish: Supaas - Sipaas سوپاس سپاس
One of the most frequently used words in Kurdish is supaas /sipaas (high frequency words) meaning thank you . Anyone interested in Iranian languages will arrive at the soul-screaming point for an etymology of the word. You need to say “thank you” as the English do numerous times a day to survive in a world which empties “thank you” of its meaning due to the repetition of the word and since politeness has turned to a business strategy.
Russian, as a Slavic language uses “spasibo” (spasi Bog) literally “may God repay you” a word which is most probably a cognate (a common Indo-European origin). However, the Russian word is said to have appeared in the 16th century which might suggest a borrowing from Iranian although some still claim it to be of pure Slavic origin. The word bog is cognate with the Indo-Iranian “bag” God as in the name Baghdad (God given)
Supaas conceptualizes as in many other languages on giving thanks to God or asking God to repay. The Kurdish word goes back to Pahlavi “spas” which refers to “asking for / doing a favour”. Probably the word goes back to Avestian “spas / spasyeiti” which implied “seeking ”.
Jamshid – Bremen 13 July 2015