zamarranoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zamarra mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zamarra. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
Entry status
OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.
How common is the noun zamarra?
| 1840 | 0.012 |
| 1850 | 0.01 |
| 1860 | 0.0092 |
| 1870 | 0.0086 |
| 1880 | 0.0054 |
| 1890 | 0.0039 |
| 1900 | 0.0034 |
| 1910 | 0.003 |
| 1920 | 0.0031 |
| 1930 | 0.0027 |
| 1940 | 0.002 |
| 1950 | 0.0015 |
| 1960 | 0.001 |
| 1970 | 0.0009 |
| 1980 | 0.0009 |
| 1990 | 0.0008 |
| 2000 | 0.0007 |
| 2010 | 0.0008 |
How is the noun zamarra pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zamarra come from?
Earliest known use
1840s
The earliest known use of the noun zamarra is in the 1840s.
OED's earliest evidence for zamarra is from 1841, in the writing of George Borrow, writer and traveller.
zamarra is a borrowing from Spanish.
Nearby entries
- Zairois, n. & adj.1973–
- zaitech, n.1986–
- zakat, n.1668–
- Zakka Khel, n.1860–
- zakuska, n.1885–
- zalambdodont, adj.1885–
- zalcitabine, n.1991–
- zamacueca, n.1855–
- Zamak, n.1926–
- zamang, n.1819–
- zamarra, n.1841–
- zama zama, n.2006–
- Zamazim, n.a1400–
- Zambian, adj. & n.1959–
- Zambianization, n.1964–
- Zambianize, v.1964–
- zambo, n.1819–
- Zamboni, n.1965–
- zambra, n.1672–
- zambuk, n.1906–
- zamburak, n.1825–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1841–A sheepskin jacket worn by Spanish people.
- 1841
Another Gypsy..dressed in a zamarra of sheep-skin.
G. Borrow, Zincali vol. I. ii. i. 231 - 1842
I observed a tall, gentlemanly-looking man, dressed in a semara.
E. D. H. E. Napier, Excursions Shores of Mediterranean vol. II. vi. 81 - 1843
The gipsy Antonio..dressed in his zamarra and high-peaked Andalusian hat.
G. Borrow, Bible in Spain vol. I. ix. 152 - 1894
Swarthy Galicians, in the black zamarra.
M. Pemberton, Sea Wolves xxii
the world textiles and clothing clothing types or styles of clothing clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) [nouns] jacket made of specific material- cork-jacket1762–A jacket made partly of cork, or lined with cork, to support a person in the water.
- jean jacket1775–A jacket made from heavy twilled cotton cloth; (now) spec. a short casual jacket made of denim.
- zamarra1841–A sheepskin jacket worn by Spanish people.
- bush jacket1842–A lightweight jacket, typically with a belt and four patch pockets with flaps, usually made of cotton and originally intended to be worn in warm…
- Cossack1884–1919Canadian. A sealskin or deerskin jacket. Obsolete.
- worsted1905–A garment made of worsted cloth; a worsted jacket, suit, etc. (see sense B).
- leathers1962–plural. Articles for wear made of leather, e.g. shoes, slippers, leggings, breeches. Hence colloquial ‘leathers’ as a name for one who wears leather…
- puffa1975–A proprietary name for: a quilted jacket or parka filled with a soft, lightweight insulating material such as down. Frequently attributive, esp. in p…
- puffy1998–Originally and chiefly North American. A quilted jacket or parka filled with a soft, lightweight insulating material such as down. Cf. earlier puffa…
Pronunciation
British English
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Forms
Variant forms
Also 1800s semara.Frequency
zamarra typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zamarra is in frequency band 1, which contains words occurring fewer than 0.001 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zamarra, n., 1840–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.
For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.
| Decade | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 1840 | 0.012 |
| 1850 | 0.01 |
| 1860 | 0.0092 |
| 1870 | 0.0086 |
| 1880 | 0.0054 |
| 1890 | 0.0039 |
| 1900 | 0.0034 |
| 1910 | 0.003 |
| 1920 | 0.0031 |
| 1930 | 0.0027 |
| 1940 | 0.002 |
| 1950 | 0.0015 |
| 1960 | 0.001 |
| 1970 | 0.0009 |
| 1980 | 0.0009 |
| 1990 | 0.0008 |
| 2000 | 0.0007 |
| 2010 | 0.0008 |