Zarathustrian, adj. & n.

zarathustrian
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zarathustrian_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2023

# Zarathustrianadjective & noun

## Earlier version

- Zarathustrian, a. and n. in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the word Zarathustrian mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the word Zarathustrian. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the word Zarathustrian?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1870 | 0.022
1880 | 0.02
1890 | 0.018
1900 | 0.017
1910 | 0.013
1920 | 0.011
1930 | 0.011
1940 | 0.0095
1950 | 0.0088
1960 | 0.0082
1970 | 0.0073
1980 | 0.0077
1990 | 0.0071
2000 | 0.0066
2010 | 0.0064

### How is the word Zarathustrian pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzarəˈθuːstriən/
zarr-uh-THOO-stree-uhn

#### U.S. English

/ˌzɛrəˈθustriən/
zair-uh-THOO-stree-uhn

### Where does the word Zarathustrian come from?

Earliest known use

1850s

The earliest known use of the word Zarathustrian is in the 1850s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zarathustrian is from 1859, in a translation by C. H. Cottrell.

From a proper name, combined with an English element.

Etymons: proper name Zarathustra, ‑ian suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. zapote, n. 1842–
2. Zapotec, n. & adj. 1797–
3. zappe, v. c1600
4. zapped, adj. 1962–
5. zapper, n. 1969–
6. zapping, n. 1972–
7. zappy, adj. 1969–
8. zaptieh, n. 1869–
9. ZAPU, n. 1961–
10. Zar, n. 1868–
11. Zarathustrian, adj. & n.1859–
12. Zarathustrianism, n. 1864–
13. Zarathustric, adj. 1848–
14. Zarathustrism, n. 1871–
15. zaratite, n. 1858–
16. zarcole, n. 1585–
17. zarda, n. 1899–
18. zardozi, n. 1871–
19. zarf | zurf, n. 1836–
20. zari, n. 1969–
21. zariba, n. 1849–

## Etymology

### Summary

From a proper name, combined with an English element.
Etymons: proper name Zarathustra, ‑ian suffix.
< Zarathustra, (also) Zarathushtra (Avestan Zaraθuštra), an alternative form of the name of Zoroaster, who is traditionally regarded as the founder of Zoroastrianism (see Zoroastrian adj.) + ‑ian suffix, after…
< Zarathustra, (also) Zarathushtra (Avestan Zaraθuštra), an alternative form of the name of Zoroaster, who is traditionally regarded as the founder of Zoroastrianism (see Zoroastrian adj.) + ‑ian suffix, after German zarathustrisch (1857 in the work translated in quot. 1859 at sense A.1).

Compare the Avestan adjective zaraθuštri- relating to Zarathustra, which may also have influenced the formation of the German and English words.

Compare earlier Zoroastrian adj. and Zoroastrian n.

### Notes

In sense A.2 with reference to Nietzsche's work Also sprach Zarathustra (1883–5) (first translated into English as Thus Spake Zarathustra (1896)), which discusses a variety of philosophical concepts, including that of the superman (superman n. 1).

## Meaning & use

1. adjective
   1. 1.
      1859–
      Of, relating to, or characteristic of Zoroastrianism or its followers; designating a follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism; = Zoroastrian adj. Also: of or relating to the ancient Persian prophet, Zarathustra (also called Zoroaster). Cf. Zarathustric adj.
      Use relating to the prophet individually is often to draw a distinction with Zoroastrian, as applied to the whole religious tradition.
      1. 1859

         > We must understand by it the burial of the dead, which notoriously was considered in the Zarathustrian religion as the greatest desecration of holy earth. [No corresponding sentence in German original.]

         C. H. Cottrell, translation of C. C. J. Bunsen, Egypt's Place vol. III. iv. vi. 502
      2. 1891

         > The Bundahis is thoroughly Zarathustrian in spirit when it states [etc.].

         T. K. Cheyne, Origin & Religious Contents of Psalter viii. 401
      3. 1903

         > Zarathustrian Gâthas in metre and rhythm.

         L. H. Mills (title)
      4. 1969

         > Marriage is therefore incumbent upon every Zarathustrian man and woman.

         B. T. Anklesaria, translation of Pahlavi Rivāyat of Āturfarnbag & Farnbag-srōs vol. II. 41
      5. 2015

         > It is the problem of reconciling evil and suffering with a benevolent and powerful deity and he connects its solution to three differing conceptions of God: Buddhist, Zarathustrian, and Calvinist.

         Max Weber Studies vol. 15 286
      religion
      1. Zoroastrian 1597–
         Of, relating to, or characteristic of Zoroastrianism or its followers; designating a follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism.
      2. Guebrish 1687
         Belonging to the Guebres.
      3. Zoroastric a1739–
         = Zoroastrian, adj.
      4. Persian 1776–
         Of or relating to Zoroastrianism. Cf. Parsee, adj. Now rare.
      5. Zarathustric 1848–
         Zoroastrian. Cf. Zarathustrian, adj. A.1.
      6. Mazdaean 1855–
         Zoroastrian.
      7. Zarathustrian 1859–
         Of, relating to, or characteristic of Zoroastrianism or its followers; designating a follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism; = Zoroastrian, adj.…
      View in Historical Thesaurus
   2. 2.
      1897–
      Characteristic or reminiscent of a Nietzschean superman (superman n. 1); advocating or supporting a Nietzschean view of morality.
      1. 1897

         > The virtues and the glorious freedom of this race [sc. the Übermensch]..are illuminated by contrast with what, from the Zarathustrian point of view, are the inherent vices and weaknesses of our present civilisation.

         Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine October 489/1
      2. 1904

         > Nietzsche found it convenient to take for granted the ready-made Zarathustrian individual.

         North American Review December 846
      3. 1970

         > That he is a spokesman for Zarathustrian ideas has long been recognized.

         American Literature vol. 41 543
      4. 2012

         > With self-imposed Zarathustrian indifference.

         Human Studies vol. 35 359
2. noun
   1. 1871–
      A follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism; = Zoroastrian n.
      1. 1871

         > The Wicked Serpent of the Zarathustrians.

         E. B. Tylor, Primitive Culture vol. II. xv. 219
      2. 1915

         > The story of the Magi was invented to convert Zarathustrians or Mithraists.

         Monist vol. 25 296
      3. 2001

         > The longstanding consensus that Cyrus was a Zarathustrian, or that at the very least Ahura Mazda was his principal deity.

         P. R. Bedford, Temple Restoration in Early Achaemenid Judah iii. 124
      religion
      1. Persian 1613–1845
         An adherent of Zoroastrianism. Cf. Parsee, n. A.1. Obsolete.
      2. Parsee 1625–
         An adherent of Zoroastrianism; spec. a descendant of the Zoroastrian Persians who fled to India after the Islamic conquest of Persia to escape…
      3. fire-worshipper 1638–
         A Zoroastrian, a Parsee.
      4. Guebre 1687–
         An adherent of the ancient Persian religion; a Zoroastrian, fire-worshipper, Parsee.
      5. Zoroastrian 1734–
         A follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism.
      6. mobed 1815–
         A Zoroastrian priest; esp. one who is a Parsee. Also used as a title.
      7. Zend 1819–
         An adherent of Zoroastrianism; a Zoroastrian. Chiefly in plural. Now rare.
      8. Zarathustrian 1871–
         A follower or adherent of Zoroastrianism; = Zoroastrian, n.
      9. Mazdaean 1881–
         A Zoroastrian.
      10. Mazdaist 1920–
          A Zoroastrian.
      View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzarəˈθuːstriən/
zarr-uh-THOO-stree-uhn

### U.S. English

/ˌzɛrəˈθustriən/
zair-uh-THOO-stree-uhn

###
Variant: Zarathushtrian

### British English

/ˌzarəˈθuːʃtriən/
zarr-uh-THOO-shtree-uhn

### U.S. English

/ˌzɛrəˈθuʃtriən/
zair-uh-THOO-shtree-uhn

####

##### 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.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- 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

## Forms

### Variant forms

1. 1800s–
   Zarathushtrian ( British English /ˌzarəˈθuːʃtriən/ (zarr-uh-THOO-shtree-uhn) , U.S. English /ˌzɛrəˈθuʃtriən/ (zair-uh-THOO-shtree-uhn) ), Zarathustrian

## Frequency

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

Zarathustrian 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 Zarathustrian, adj. & n., 1870–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1870 | 0.022
1880 | 0.02
1890 | 0.018
1900 | 0.017
1910 | 0.013
1920 | 0.011
1930 | 0.011
1940 | 0.0095
1950 | 0.0088
1960 | 0.0082
1970 | 0.0073
1980 | 0.0077
1990 | 0.0071
2000 | 0.0066
2010 | 0.0064

## Compounds & derived words

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1. Zarathustrianism, n. 1864–
   A religious system originating in ancient Persia…

Zarathustrian, adj. & n. was revised in March 2023.

Zarathustrian, adj. & n. was last modified in July 2023.