zambra, n.

zambra
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zambra_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zambranoun

## Earlier version

- zambra in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zambra mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zambra. 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 zambra?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1800 | 0.0031
1810 | 0.003
1820 | 0.0032
1830 | 0.0039
1840 | 0.0033
1850 | 0.0045
1860 | 0.0049
1870 | 0.0053
1880 | 0.005
1890 | 0.005
1900 | 0.0044
1910 | 0.0042
1920 | 0.0042
1930 | 0.0042
1940 | 0.0042
1950 | 0.0045
1960 | 0.0044
1970 | 0.0044
1980 | 0.0045
1990 | 0.0039
2000 | 0.0036
2010 | 0.0033

### How is the noun zambra pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈθambra/
/ˈzambrə/
ZAM-bruh

### Where does the noun zambra come from?

Earliest known use

late 1600s

The earliest known use of the noun zambra is in the late 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for zambra is from 1672, in the writing of John Dryden, poet, playwright, and critic.

zambra is a borrowing from Spanish.

### Nearby entries

1. Zamak, n. 1926–
2. zamang, n. 1819–
3. zamarra, n. 1841–
4. zama zama, n. 2006–
5. Zamazim, n. a1400–
6. Zambian, adj. & n. 1959–
7. Zambianization, n. 1964–
8. Zambianize, v. 1964–
9. zambo, n. 1819–
10. Zamboni, n. 1965–
11. zambra, n.1672–
12. zambuk, n. 1906–
13. zamburak, n. 1825–
14. zami, n. 1977–
15. Zamia, n. 1819–
16. zamindar, n. 1683–
17. zamindari, n. & adj. 1742–
18. zamindarship, n. 1698–1902
19. zamioid, adj. 1860–
20. zamorin, n. 1582–
21. zampino, n. 1881–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Spanish.
Spanish.

## Meaning & use

1. 1672–
   A Spanish or Moorish dance.
   1. 1672

      > Fair Almahide..Prepares a Zambra to be danc'd this Night.

      J. Dryden, Conquest of Granada i.i. i. 12
   2. 1832

      > In wanton Seville, where black-eyed damsels dance the zambra under every orange grove.

      W. Irving, Alhambra vol. II. 46
   3. 1906

      > The knights..often joined them in the graceful dance of the zambra.

      19th Century June 942
   dance
   1. canary 1592–
      In singular and (formerly) plural. A lively dance similar to the jig or gigue; a piece of music intended to accompany this dance. Frequently with the.
   2. zambra 1672–
      A Spanish or Moorish dance.
   3. seguidilla 1763–
      A Spanish dance in ¾ or 3/8 time; also the music for such a dance.
   4. bolero 1787–
      A lively Spanish dance; also the air to which it is danced.
   5. folia 1790–
      A Spanish dance similar to the fandango. Also, music for such a dance.
   6. malagueña 1810–
      a. A Spanish dance resembling the fandango, from the region of Malaga. b. An emotional Spanish Gypsy song, sometimes associated with performance of…
   7. guaracha 1828–
      ‘A lively Spanish dance in 3/8 or 3/4 time, usually accompanied on the guitar by the dancer himself’ (Stainer & Barrett 1876). Also, the music…
   8. polo?1830–
      A style of song in flamenco music; the dance performed to a song in this style.
   9. cachucha 1841–
      A lively Spanish dance.
   10. romalis 1841–
       A traditional Spanish dance; = ole, n.¹
   11. ole 1845–
       A Spanish folk dance which is accompanied by castanets and singing.
   12. zapateado 1845–
       A flamenco dance which involves complex rhythmic syncopated stamping of the heels and toes in imitation of castanets.
   13. jota 1846–
       A Spanish folk dance in ¾ or 3/8 time. Also, the music of this dance.
   14. rondeña 1853–
       A flamenco-style dance or song of southern Spain.
   15. jaleo 1865–
       A lively Andalusian dance, or the clapping that accompanies it.
   16. flamenco 1896–
       A Spanish style of singing or dancing; a song or dance in this style.
   17. tango 1896–
       A Spanish flamenco dance.
   18. bulerias 1918–
       A type of fast-paced flamenco dance; (also) a piece of lively music for this dance, usually played on the guitar and accompanied by singing.
   19. paso doble 1919–
       A fast-paced ballroom dance based on a Latin American style of marching. Also: the music for such a dance, typically in duple time.
   20. farruca 1931–
       A local Spanish dance.
   21. seguiriyas 1967–
       In full, seguiriyas gitana: a regional variety of flamenco music; the song or dance which accompanies this.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈθambra/
/ˈzambrə/
ZAM-bruh

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zambra typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zambra is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zambra, n., 1800–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1800 | 0.0031
1810 | 0.003
1820 | 0.0032
1830 | 0.0039
1840 | 0.0033
1850 | 0.0045
1860 | 0.0049
1870 | 0.0053
1880 | 0.005
1890 | 0.005
1900 | 0.0044
1910 | 0.0042
1920 | 0.0042
1930 | 0.0042
1940 | 0.0042
1950 | 0.0045
1960 | 0.0044
1970 | 0.0044
1980 | 0.0045
1990 | 0.0039
2000 | 0.0036
2010 | 0.0033

zambra, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zambra, n. was last modified in December 2024.