zarf | zurf, n.

zarf
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zarf_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zarf | zurfnoun

## Earlier version

- zarf in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zarf mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zarf. 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 zarf?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1830 | 0.011
1840 | 0.01
1850 | 0.009
1860 | 0.008
1870 | 0.0074
1880 | 0.0066
1890 | 0.0057
1900 | 0.0034
1910 | 0.0022
1920 | 0.002
1930 | 0.0019
1940 | 0.002
1950 | 0.0016
1960 | 0.0018
1970 | 0.0023
1980 | 0.0028
1990 | 0.0031
2000 | 0.0034
2010 | 0.0037

### How is the noun zarf pronounced?

#### British English

/zɑːf/
/zɜːf/

### Where does the noun zarf come from?

Earliest known use

1830s

The earliest known use of the noun zarf is in the 1830s.

OED's earliest evidence for zarf is from 1836, in the writing of Edward Lane, orientalist.

zarf is a borrowing from Arabic.

Etymons: Arabic ẓarf.

### Nearby entries

1. ZAPU, n. 1961–
2. Zar, n. 1868–
3. Zarathustrian, adj. & n. 1859–
4. Zarathustrianism, n. 1864–
5. Zarathustric, adj. 1848–
6. Zarathustrism, n. 1871–
7. zaratite, n. 1858–
8. zarcole, n. 1585–
9. zarda, n. 1899–
10. zardozi, n. 1871–
11. zarf | zurf, n.1836–
12. zari, n. 1969–
13. zariba, n. 1849–
14. zariba, v. 1885–
15. zarnich, n. 1612–
16. Zarp, n. 1895–
17. zarzuela, n. 1888–
18. zat, n. 1934–
19. zatch, n. 1950–
20. zawiya, n. 1836–
21. zawn, n. 1865–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Arabic.
Etymon: Arabic ẓarf.
< Arabic ẓarf vessel.

## Meaning & use

1. 1836–
   A cup-shaped holder for a hot coffee-cup, used in the Levant, usually of metal and of ornamental design.
   1. 1836

      > The coffee-cup.., being without a handle, is placed within another cup (called zurf).

      E. W. Lane, Account of Manners & Customs of Modern Egyptians vol. I. v. 168
   2. 1854

      > One brought coffee on a tray..and then came a man bringing to each of us a cup, well frothed up, and in a zarf, or outer cup.

      R. Curzon, Armenia 80
   3. 1978

      > A diamond and emerald zarf, mounted in gold and silver, 19th century, 6·5 cm high.

      Times 2 May 13/3 (caption)
   1. zarf 1836–
      A cup-shaped holder for a hot coffee-cup, used in the Levant, usually of metal and of ornamental design.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɑːf/

### British English

/zɜːf/

####

##### 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.

## Frequency

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

zarf 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 zarf | zurf, n., 1830–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1830 | 0.011
1840 | 0.01
1850 | 0.009
1860 | 0.008
1870 | 0.0074
1880 | 0.0066
1890 | 0.0057
1900 | 0.0034
1910 | 0.0022
1920 | 0.002
1930 | 0.0019
1940 | 0.002
1950 | 0.0016
1960 | 0.0018
1970 | 0.0023
1980 | 0.0028
1990 | 0.0031
2000 | 0.0034
2010 | 0.0037

zarf, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zarf, n. was last modified in December 2024.