Zarathustrianism, n.

zarathustrianism
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zarathustrianism_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2023

# Zarathustrianismnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zarathustrianism mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun Zarathustrianism. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How is the noun Zarathustrianism pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzarəˈθuːstriənɪz(ə)m/
zarr-uh-THOO-stree-uh-niz-uhm

#### U.S. English

/ˌzɛrəˈθustriəˌnɪzəm/
zair-uh-THOO-stree-uh-niz-uhm

### Where does the noun Zarathustrianism come from?

Earliest known use

1860s

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

OED's earliest evidence for Zarathustrianism is from 1864, in a translation by A. H. Bleeck.

Zarathustrianism is formed within English, by derivation.

Etymons: Zarathustrian adj., ‑ism suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. Zapotec, n. & adj. 1797–
2. zappe, v. c1600
3. zapped, adj. 1962–
4. zapper, n. 1969–
5. zapping, n. 1972–
6. zappy, adj. 1969–
7. zaptieh, n. 1869–
8. ZAPU, n. 1961–
9. Zar, n. 1868–
10. Zarathustrian, adj. & n. 1859–
11. Zarathustrianism, n.1864–
12. Zarathustric, adj. 1848–
13. Zarathustrism, n. 1871–
14. zaratite, n. 1858–
15. zarcole, n. 1585–
16. zarda, n. 1899–
17. zardozi, n. 1871–
18. zarf | zurf, n. 1836–
19. zari, n. 1969–
20. zariba, n. 1849–
21. zariba, v. 1885–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by derivation.
Etymons: Zarathustrian adj., ‑ism suffix.
< Zarathustrian adj. + ‑ism suffix.

Compare earlier Zoroastrianism n.

## Meaning & use

1. 1864–
   A religious system originating in ancient Persia (now Iran), maintaining a dualistic doctrine which contrasts the force of light and good in the world with that of darkness and evil, and predicts the ultimate defeat of evil by good; = Zoroastrianism n.
   1. 1864

      > Even when we arrive at the firmer ground of Cyrus the Great (about A.C. 550) we are still left in almost complete ignorance as to the precise form of the Zarathustrianism of his day.

      A. H. Bleeck in translation of F. Spiegel, Avesta vol. I. Introduction p. x
   2. 1936

      > On the obscene caricatures of transcendental Hindu thought and mysticism,..Mahayana Buddhism, and ancient Zarathustrianism which are offered to English-speaking readers it is not pleasant to dwell.

      Musical Times vol. 77 1119/1
   3. 2011

      > As a Parsi, I am not a Hindu or a Buddhist by religion... Our religion is Zarathustrianism (or Zoroastrianism as is more commonly stated in English).

      Counterpoints vol. 379 54
   ancient history religion
   1. Zoroastrism 1819–
      = Zoroastrianism, n.
   2. Zoroastrianism 1832–
      A religious system originating in ancient Persia (now Iran), maintaining a dualistic doctrine which contrasts the force of good in the world with…
   3. Parseeism 1843–
      The religion of the Parsees; Zoroastrianism.
   4. Parsism 1849–
      = Parseeism, n.
   5. Zarathustrianism 1864–
      A religious system originating in ancient Persia (now Iran), maintaining a dualistic doctrine which contrasts the force of light and good in the…
   6. Mazdaism 1871–
      Zoroastrianism.
   7. Zarathustrism 1871–
      = Zoroastrianism, n. Cf. Zarathustrianism, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzarəˈθuːstriənɪz(ə)m/
zarr-uh-THOO-stree-uh-niz-uhm

### U.S. English

/ˌzɛrəˈθustriəˌnɪzəm/
zair-uh-THOO-stree-uh-niz-uhm

####

##### 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

See Zarathustrian adj. and ‑ism suffix.

Originally published as part of the entry for Zarathustrian, adj. & n.

Zarathustrianism, n. was revised in March 2023.

Zarathustrianism, n. was last modified in July 2023.