Abstract

The present study investigates dynamic meaning construction in Persian body-part idioms within Evans's Theory of Lexical Concepts and Cognitive Models (LCCM, 2009b). Using a descriptive-analytical method, it examines 501 idioms from eleven frequent body-part terms: del (heart), cheshm (eye), sar (head), dast (hand), pā (foot), dahān (mouth), zabān (tongue), gush (ear), posht (back), dandān (tooth), and pishāni (forehead). Data were extracted from Farhang-e Fārsi-ye Āmiyāneh (2008) and Farhang-e Bozorg-e Sokhan (2007). Analysis was conducted at two levels: qualitatively, through step-by-step examination of profile selection, selective activation of cognitive models, and conceptual integration; and quantitatively, by calculating the frequency of syntactic combinations. Findings show that the ultimate meaning of these idioms resides neither in the body-part terms nor in the accompanying adjectives or verbs. Instead, it emerges from a tripartite interaction of lexical concept, syntactic context, and cultural-cognitive model. Frequency analysis revealed that noun+verb combinations significantly outnumber noun+adjective combinations, highlighting the prominence of an action-oriented, process-based perspective over a qualitative-static one in Persian speakers' cognitive model. The body-part term del (heart) was most frequent, with 133 idioms, while pishāni (forehead) was least frequent, with only 3. The study demonstrates that the LCCM framework, moving beyond the static nature of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, offers a more precise tool for explaining contextual meaning variation in Persian body-based idioms. It also emphasizes the dynamic role of syntactic structure and cultural knowledge in online meaning construction.