(the most probable interpretation of the consonants mhsty , for which other forms, like Mahistī, Mahsitī or Mihistī, have been proposed as well; cf. Meier, 43 ff.) a Persian female poet whose historical personality is difficult to ascertain.

She must have lived at some time between the early 5th/11th and the middle of the 6th/12th century. The earliest sources situate her alternatively in the environment of Maḥmūd of G̲h̲azna, of the Sald̲j̲ūḳ Sultan Sand̲j̲ar, or of a legendary king of Gand̲j̲a in Ād̲h̲arbāyd̲j̲ān. The qualification dabīr or dabīra is often attached to her name, …