Zakka Khelnoun (& adjective)
Factsheet
What does the noun Zakka Khel mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun Zakka Khel. 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 Zakka Khel?
| 1870 | 0.011 |
| 1880 | 0.013 |
| 1890 | 0.013 |
| 1900 | 0.014 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.015 |
| 1930 | 0.012 |
| 1940 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 0.0072 |
| 1960 | 0.0053 |
| 1970 | 0.0034 |
| 1980 | 0.0032 |
| 1990 | 0.0031 |
| 2000 | 0.0025 |
| 2010 | 0.0019 |
How is the noun Zakka Khel pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun Zakka Khel come from?
Earliest known use
1860s
The earliest known use of the noun Zakka Khel is in the 1860s.
OED's earliest evidence for Zakka Khel is from 1860, in the writing of H. B. Lumsden.
Zakka Khel is perhaps a borrowing from Pashto.
Etymons: Pashto Zakka Ḵēl.
Nearby entries
- zaibatsu, n.1937–
- Zaidi, n.1709–
- zaikai, n.1968–
- zaim, n.1807–
- zaire, n.1967–
- Zairean, n. & adj.1972–
- Zairese, adj. & n.1974–
- 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–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1860–(A member of) a nomadic Afridi clan inhabiting parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan from the slopes of the Safīd Kūh to the border of Peshawar. Also attributive or as adj.
- 1860
The Zakkakhel Afridies do not consider a child properly baptised unless he has been passed backwards and forwards through a hole in a wall, with an exhortation to become an expert thief, at the same time that he receives his name.
H. B. Lumsden, Mission to Kandahar 68 - 1888
A thief of the Zukka Kheyl.
R. Kipling, Barrack-room Ballads (1892) 127 - 1898
The Afridis with the exception of the Zakka Khel section have almost paid their fine in rifles.
W. S. Churchill, Letter 27 March in R. S. Churchill, Winston S. Churchill (1967) vol. I. Companion ii. 901 - 1932
The Khyber was constantly raided by Zakka Khels and Mohmands.
C. C. Davies in Cambridge Hist. India vol. VI. xxv. 462 - 1962
In the spring and summer of 1857 the..Zakka Khel Afridis made a series of raids upon British-administered territory around Peshawar.
J. W. Spain, Way of Pathans iii. 32 - 1985
In the Zakka Khel campaign of 1908, all the Zakka Khel in the Khyber Rifles were paraded by the Political Agent.
C. C. Trench, Frontier Scouts ii. 12
the world people ethnicity, race, or heritage peoples of Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Turkistan [nouns]- Afghan1625–a. A Pashtun, in later use esp. one from Afghanistan. b. More generally: a native or inhabitant of Afghanistan; a person of Afghani descent. Cf. Af…
- Pathan1625–In India and Pakistan: a member of a Pashto-speaking people inhabiting parts of south-east Afghanistan and north-west Pakistan. Cf. Pakhtun, n., Pa…
- Afridi1784–A member of a Pashto-speaking people inhabiting the mountainous region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- Hazara1801–A member of a people of Mongolian descent inhabiting the mountainous region of central Afghanistan and parts of northern Iran and Pakistan.
- Hindki1815–A person of Indian descent living in Afghanistan or northern Pakistan; spec. a Hindu of the Khatri caste (cf. Khatri, n. 1).
- Mohmand1815–A member of a Pathan people partly inhabiting the mountainous region of Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan to the north of the Khyber Pass, and partly…
- Tajik1815–A people of Iranian descent inhabiting Afghanistan and the Turkistan region of central Asia; now also spec. a native or inhabitant of Tajikistan.
- Ghilzai1826–The name of one of the most famous of the tribes of Afghanistan. Also attributive.
- Turkistani1826–A native or inhabitant of the historic region of Turkistan in central Asia (now corresponding to parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan…
- Kaffir1834–Since the mid 20th cent. Kaffir has been considered extremely offensive and is now widely avoided, esp. in South Africa, where its usage is categorized as crimen injuria (crimen injuria, n.) and is thus legally actionable. Usually in form Kafir. A member of a non-Islamic people inhabiting part of the Hindu Kush area of north-eastern Afghanistan. Now historical.
- Powindah1851–A member of a nomadic trading people of Afghanistan.
- Sart1871–A member of a settled people of mixed Turkoman and Iranian descent, living as town-dwellers and traders in Turkestan and parts of Afghanistan. Cf… The name is widely used, with varying degrees of exactness, to designate the sedentary people of this region. They are thus contrasted with the Kurds and others, by whom the term is considered derogatory. Other commentators view the Sarts as an ethnologically distinct people.
- Shinwari1875–(A member of) a nomadic people inhabiting areas of Afghanistan around the Khyber Pass. Also attributive.
- Pakhtun1880–A member of a people inhabiting parts of south-eastern Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan; = Pathan, adj. Cf. Pashtun, n. A.1.
- Zakka Khel1888–(A member of) a nomadic Afridi clan inhabiting parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan from the slopes of the Safīd Kūh to the border of Peshawar. Also…
- Afghani1966–A native or inhabitant of Afghanistan. Cf. Afghan, n. A.1.
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 Zaka Khel, Zukka Kheyl, etc., and as one word.Frequency
Zakka Khel typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
Zakka Khel 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 of Zakka Khel, 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 | 0.011 |
| 1880 | 0.013 |
| 1890 | 0.013 |
| 1900 | 0.014 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.015 |
| 1930 | 0.012 |
| 1940 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 0.0072 |
| 1960 | 0.0053 |
| 1970 | 0.0034 |
| 1980 | 0.0032 |
| 1990 | 0.0031 |
| 2000 | 0.0025 |
| 2010 | 0.0019 |