Zar, n.

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

# Zarnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zar mean?

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

Zar has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

religion (1860s) pathology (1860s) dance (1930s)

#### 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 Zar?

About 0.1occurrences per million words in modern written English

1860 | 0.032
1870 | 0.033
1880 | 0.033
1890 | 0.034
1900 | 0.04
1910 | 0.045
1920 | 0.045
1930 | 0.048
1940 | 0.051
1950 | 0.066
1960 | 0.086
1970 | 0.1
1980 | 0.13
1990 | 0.16
2000 | 0.16
2010 | 0.16

### How is the noun Zar pronounced?

#### British English

/zɑː/
zar

### Where does the noun Zar come from?

Earliest known use

1860s

The earliest known use of the noun Zar is in the 1860s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zar is from 1868, in the writing of W. C. Plowden.

Zar is a borrowing from Arabic.

Etymons: Arabic zār.

### Nearby entries

1. Zapatista, n. & adj. 1911–
2. zapote, n. 1842–
3. Zapotec, n. & adj. 1797–
4. zappe, v. c1600
5. zapped, adj. 1962–
6. zapper, n. 1969–
7. zapping, n. 1972–
8. zappy, adj. 1969–
9. zaptieh, n. 1869–
10. ZAPU, n. 1961–
11. Zar, n.1868–
12. Zarathustrian, adj. & n. 1859–
13. Zarathustrianism, n. 1864–
14. Zarathustric, adj. 1848–
15. Zarathustrism, n. 1871–
16. zaratite, n. 1858–
17. zarcole, n. 1585–
18. zarda, n. 1899–
19. zardozi, n. 1871–
20. zarf | zurf, n. 1836–
21. zari, n. 1969–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Arabic.
Etymon: Arabic zār.
< Arabic zār, < Amharic, said to be < jār, name of a sky deity in a Cushitic language.

## Meaning & use

1. 1.
   1868–
   In several North African countries, a malignant spirit, possession by which is a traditional explanation for attacks of (usually religious) mania, esp. in women, and formerly for some diseases.
   1. 1868

      > Consumption is not very frequent.., the Abyssinians naturally attribute it to a Zar, or some other devilment.

      W. C. Plowden, Travels in Abyssinia vi. 114
   2. 1913

      > Zar and Desatir may be identified with the Bori.

      R. Blind, translation of L. Frobenius, Voice Africa vol. II. xxvi. 571
   3. 1931

      > ‘Art thou Zar?’ asks Umm az Zar. ‘I am Zar,’ comes the reply through the mouth of the possessed.

      B. Thomas, Alarms & Excursions in Arabia v. i. 261
   4. 1931

      > If he has been possessed by a female zar, only the blood of the ox or ram will do.

      B. Thomas, Alarms & Excursions in Arabia v. i. 262
   religion pathology
   1. spirit c1350–
      Such a being imagined or conceived as possessing and controlling a person.
   2. familiar devil a1464–
      A demon who associates with or is under the power of a person; cf. familiar, n. A.3a.
   3. Python 1548–
      A spirit which takes possession of a person; a familiar, esp. one with powers of prophesy. Also: a person possessed by and uttering the words of…
   4. familiar spirit 1549–
      A spirit, often taking the form of an animal, which obeys and assists a witch or other person; = familiar, n. A.3a.
   5. familiar 1583–
      A spirit, often taking the form of an animal, which obeys and assists a witch or other person. Cf. earlier familiar spirit, n., familiar devil, n..
   6. succubus 1601–
      transferred. A demon, evil spirit; occasionally a familiar spirit.
   7. demon 1613–
      An evil spirit that possesses a person, animal, etc.
   8. paredrus a1641
      An assistant; spec. a familiar spirit.
   9. maisterel 1652
      An imp, a familiar spirit.
   10. obsessor 1652
       A familiar spirit or demon. Obsolete.
   11. paredrial 1652
       = paredrus, n.
   12. cad 1657–58
       A familiar spirit.
   13. kanaima 1825–
       Among Arawak and Carib peoples of Guyana and Venezuela: a spirit, or person possessed by a spirit, who causes sickness or death as an act of…
   14. Zar 1868–
       In several North African countries, a malignant spirit, possession by which is a traditional explanation for attacks of (usually religious) mania…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1931–
   Any of various ceremonies associated with possession by or propitiation of such spirits, esp. a variety of whirling dance. Frequently attributive.
   1. 1931

      > The Zar ceremony in which the participants drink the blood of their sacrifices.

      Times Literary Supplement 2 April 263/1
   2. 1966

      > The Dervish dancers, with castanets, tambourines and all the trimmings of their famous Zar dance; a swoop of movements, a whirling and spinning which makes their embroidered robes float out horizontally seemingly in defiance of gravity.

      Guardian 14 March 18/4
   3. 1989

      > Zār rituals are always fraught with tension and surprise.

      J. Boddy, Wombs & Alien Spirits iv. 131
   dance
   1. hopping c1330–
      A dance; a rural festival of which dancing forms a principal part.
   2. hocking 1406–
   3. church ale 1448–
      A festivity during which ale is drunk, held by or in connection with a church esp. to raise money for church repair, the poor, etc. Also: the ale…
   4. bid-ale c1462–1857
      An ‘ale’ or entertainment for the benefit of some person, to which a general bidding or invitation was given.
   5. kirk-ale 1543–1879
      = church ale, n.
   6. maids' ale 1547
      The festival of the maidens' guild.
   7. quaff-tide 1582
      The season for drinking.
   8. help-ale 1587–1675
      A rustic festival or merry-making in celebration of the completion of some work (e.g. haymaking) done with the help of neighbours (obsolete).
   9. king's day 1618–
      A day of celebration marking a King's birthday, coronation day, or other anniversary.
   10. clerk-ale 1627–
       An ale-drinking for the benefit of the parish clerk; also, the ale then provided.
   11. Tynwald day a1628–
       The day, usually falling on 5 July, on which new laws are promulgated (in both English and Manx) from Tynwald Hill each year, typically marked with a…
   12. Chinese New Year 1704–
       The Chinese festival marking the start of the new year, beginning on the second new moon after the winter solstice and ending on the full moon…
   13. Rasa-yatra 1767–
       An Indian festival celebrating a dance originally performed by Krishna and the gopis (gopi, n.) in Hindu mythology. Formerly also: this dance. Cf…
   14. spring festival 1788–
       Any of various festivals held in the springtime, usually to mark the passing of winter into spring.
   15. souling 1813–
       English regional (chiefly northern and western). The action, practice, or ritual of going about asking for donations of food, etc., traditionally on…
   16. gooding 1818–
       The action of begging or collecting alms; spec. the custom of going round the wealthier households of a parish at Christmas time to beg for money or…
   17. club walking 1821–
       (In the United Kingdom) an annual parish festival and procession of a friendly society or the like, usually held around May Day or Whitsuntide; = club…
   18. club walk 1822–
       (In the United Kingdom) an annual parish festival and procession of a friendly society or the like, usually held around May Day or Whitsuntide; cf. cl…
   19. walking day 1826–
       A day (usually at Whitsun) on which Sunday School children walk in procession; cf. walk, n.¹ II.7a.
   20. yatra 1827–
       Chiefly in Bengal: a theatrical entertainment or song recital staged during a religious festival.
   21. fish festival 1828–
       A festival to celebrate fish as a foodstuff.
   22. Volksfest 1836–
       A traditional public festival, typically one at which beer or wine is served, and (in later use) having food stalls, rides, and other attractions.
   23. triacontaëterid 1839–
       A period of thirty years, or a festival recurring every thirty years.
   24. pwe 1842–
       In Burma (Myanmar): a performance, spectacle, or event staged for public entertainment, as a play, a drama, a dance, etc.; a festival that involves…
   25. Thomasing 1847–
       The begging of alms on St. Thomas's day (21 December). Also called corning, doling, or gooding.
   26. book festival 1851–
       An organized event that celebrates or promotes books or reading; a literary festival.
   27. Valentining 1854–
       English regional (south-east midlands). The activity or custom (typically performed by children) of going from house to house on Valentine's Day…
   28. hocking-ale 1857–
       Ale brewed for the festival at Hocktide; the festival itself, at which collections were made for parochial purposes.
   29. Mary-ale 1857–
       A celebration held on a festival of the Virgin Mary.
   30. beer festival 1858–
       An event or celebration at which beer is served; (now usually) an organized event celebrating beers or brewing at which a variety of different beers…
   31. Oktoberfest 1859–
       Originally: an annual festival celebrated in Munich in late September and early October (often with particular reference to the beer festival…
   32. Marymass 1866–
       In Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland: a festival held on the third Saturday after the first Monday in August, to commemorate a visit by Mary, Queen of…
   33. Lag b'Omer 1874–
       A Jewish festival held on the 33rd day of the Omer, traditionally regarded as celebrating the end of a plague in the 2nd cent. a.d.
   34. full moon festival 1876–
       = Moon Festival, n.
   35. beerfest 1877–
       In early use: an event or celebration at which beer is served (sometimes as a promotional event for a brewery or drinking establishment). Now…
   36. Tanabata 1880–
       A Japanese festival held annually on 7 July (that in Sendai, N. Honshu, being the most famous), in which the heavenly lovers Shokujo and Kengyū are…
   37. Moon Festival 1892–
       (In China and Chinese communities elsewhere) a festival celebrated in mid-autumn on the fifteenth night of the eighth moon of the Chinese year…
   38. love fest 1907–
       An event or interaction characterized by (mutual) uncritical appreciation or affinity.
   39. bierfest 1908–
       An organized event at which a variety of beers are served; = beer festival, n. Cf. beerfest, n.
   40. book fest 1908–
       a. = book festival, n.; b. a period of prolonged or intense reading or discussion of books.
   41. sausage fest 1908–
       U.S. colloquial. An organized event dedicated to the eating of sausages.
   42. Zar 1931–
       Any of various ceremonies associated with possession by or propitiation of such spirits, esp. a variety of whirling dance. Frequently attributive.
   43. rara 1941–
       In Haiti: an annual street festival coinciding broadly with Lent, during which processions are held and music is performed. Hence: the music…
   44. mas' 1956–
       In Trinidad (and later elsewhere): a masquerade, esp. one held as part of an annual carnival parade; carnival celebrations.
   45. molimo 1960–
       Among the Mbuti people: a religious festival or ritual marking an important occasion such as marriage, death, etc., and characterized by the singing…
   46. Kwanzaa 1970–
       A secular festival observed by many African Americans from 26 December to 1 January, as a celebration of family, community, and culture.
   47. nostalgia-fest 1979–
       A festival of nostalgia; a piece of nostalgic entertainment.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. fantasia 1838–
      The Italian word is current in the Levant and North Africa, in the senses: (a) Ostentation, pomp, self-importance. (b) A kind of Arab dance; also…
   2. Zar 1931–
      Any of various ceremonies associated with possession by or propitiation of such spirits, esp. a variety of whirling dance. Frequently attributive.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. Ouled Nail 1906–
      Of, relating to, or designating a North African dancing girl or the Algerian Arab people from which most such girls originated.
   2. Zar 1931–
      Any of various ceremonies associated with possession by or propitiation of such spirits, esp. a variety of whirling dance. Frequently attributive.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɑː/
zar

####

##### 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

Zar typically occurs about 0.1 times per million words in modern written English.

Zar is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 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 Zar, n., 1860–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1860 | 0.032
1870 | 0.033
1880 | 0.033
1890 | 0.034
1900 | 0.04
1910 | 0.045
1920 | 0.045
1930 | 0.048
1940 | 0.051
1950 | 0.066
1960 | 0.086
1970 | 0.1
1980 | 0.13
1990 | 0.16
2000 | 0.16
2010 | 0.16

### Frequency of Zar, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

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 corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.15
2018 | 0.15
2019 | 0.17
2020 | 0.19
2021 | 0.18
2022 | 0.18
2023 | 0.19
2024 | 0.17

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

Zar, n. was last modified in December 2024.