zaim, n.

zaim
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zaim_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1993; not fully revised

# zaimnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zaim mean?

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

zaim has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

medieval history (1800s) military (1800s)

#### 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 zaim?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1800 | 0.0093
1810 | 0.0078
1820 | 0.0068
1830 | 0.0059
1840 | 0.0048
1850 | 0.0046
1860 | 0.0023
1870 | 0.0014
1880 | 0.0013
1890 | 0.0013
1900 | 0.0013
1910 | 0.0012
1920 | 0.0013
1930 | 0.0017
1940 | 0.0016
1950 | 0.0021
1960 | 0.0026
1970 | 0.0031
1980 | 0.0036
1990 | 0.0038
2000 | 0.004
2010 | 0.0044

### How is the noun zaim pronounced?

#### British English

/zaˈim/

### Where does the noun zaim come from?

Earliest known use

1800s

The earliest known use of the noun zaim is in the 1800s.

OED's earliest evidence for zaim is from 1807, in the writing of T. Thornton.

zaim is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Turkish. Partly a borrowing from Arabic.

Etymons: Turkish zaim; Arabic zaʿīm.

### Nearby entries

1. zaftig, adj. 1921–
2. zafu, n. 1965–
3. zag, n., adv., & v. 1793–
4. zagaie | zagaye, n. 1590–1698
5. Zaghlulist, n. & adj. 1921–
6. zaguan, n. 1851–
7. Zahal, n. 1959–
8. zaibatsu, n. 1937–
9. Zaidi, n. 1709–
10. zaikai, n. 1968–
11. zaim, n.1807–
12. zaire, n. 1967–
13. Zairean, n. & adj. 1972–
14. Zairese, adj. & n. 1974–
15. Zairois, n. & adj. 1973–
16. zaitech, n. 1986–
17. zakat, n. 1668–
18. Zakka Khel, n. 1860–
19. zakuska, n. 1885–
20. zalambdodont, adj. 1885–
21. zalcitabine, n. 1991–

## Etymology

### Summary

Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Turkish. Partly a borrowing from Arabic.
Etymons: Turkish zaim; Arabic zaʿīm.
< Turkish zaim, < Arabic zaʿīm chieftain; in sense b, directly from the Arabic (= spokesman, leader, ringleader).

## Meaning & use

1. 1. a.
      1807–
      Formerly, in the feudal system of Turkey, a chief who supported a mounted militia bearing his name. Cf. timariot n. Historical.
      1. 1807

         > Each of the feudal lords, whether zaïms or timariots, were enjoined by the charter by which they held their estates, to proceed to war.

         T. Thornton, Present State of Turkey v. 165
      2. a1823

         > These Beys have the command over all the individuals in a certain district, who hold lands on the same tenure; the latter are called sipáhís or soldiers (seapoys), and in our books zaïms and timariots, from the different sort of estates which they hold in fee.

         Encyclopædia Metropolitana (1845) vol. XV. 509/2
      3. 1913

         > The Zaims and Timariotes..were a class of country gentlemen.

         A. H. Lybyer, Government of Ottoman Empire 101
      medieval history military historical
      1. timariot 1601–
         The holder of a timar, n. Also attributive.
      2. timar 1604–
         One holding a timar: = timariot, n.
      3. zaim 1807–
         Formerly, in the feudal system of Turkey, a chief who supported a mounted militia bearing his name. Cf. timariot, n. Historical.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
   2. b.
      1975–
      In Lebanon, a popular leader or influential figure.
      1. 1975

         > A characteristically Lebanese political institution, that of the zaim (leader) and his network of co-religionist clients.

         New Society 23 October 207/2
      2. 1983

         > When revolution came, it was..from the strongholds of the political godfathers—the zaʿims—Christian and Muslim, who ran the country as an extension of their personal fiefdoms.

         Listener 8 September 6/2
      1. tribune 1587–
         transferred and figurative. An officer holding some position analogous to that of a Roman tribune; a judge; a protector of the rights of the people…
      2. demagogue 1651–
         In ancient times, a leader of the people; a popular leader or orator who espoused the cause of the people against any other party in the state.
      3. jefe 1844–
         Chiefly in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries: a chief or boss; a leader, esp. the paramount political or governmental leader.
      4. Pasionaria 1961–
         A popular female leader or figurehead for a political or other cause. Also La Pasionaria.
      5. zaim 1975–
         In Lebanon, a popular leader or influential figure.
      View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zaˈim/

####

##### 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.

## Forms

### Variant forms

Plural same or zaims.

## Frequency

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

zaim 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 zaim, 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 | 0.0093
1810 | 0.0078
1820 | 0.0068
1830 | 0.0059
1840 | 0.0048
1850 | 0.0046
1860 | 0.0023
1870 | 0.0014
1880 | 0.0013
1890 | 0.0013
1900 | 0.0013
1910 | 0.0012
1920 | 0.0013
1930 | 0.0017
1940 | 0.0016
1950 | 0.0021
1960 | 0.0026
1970 | 0.0031
1980 | 0.0036
1990 | 0.0038
2000 | 0.004
2010 | 0.0044

zaim, n. was first published in 1993; not fully revised.

zaim, n. was last modified in December 2024.