zardanoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zarda mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zarda. 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 zarda?
| 1890 | 0.0002 |
| 1900 | 0.0002 |
| 1910 | 0.0002 |
| 1920 | 0.0004 |
| 1930 | 0.0004 |
| 1940 | 0.0007 |
| 1950 | 0.0011 |
| 1960 | 0.0016 |
| 1970 | 0.0021 |
| 1980 | 0.0025 |
| 1990 | 0.0027 |
| 2000 | 0.0029 |
| 2010 | 0.0031 |
How is the noun zarda pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zarda come from?
Earliest known use
1890s
The earliest known use of the noun zarda is in the 1890s.
OED's earliest evidence for zarda is from 1899, in Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency.
zarda is a borrowing from Persian.
Etymons: Persian zarda, Urdu zarda.
Nearby entries
- zappy, adj.1969–
- zaptieh, n.1869–
- ZAPU, n.1961–
- Zar, n.1868–
- Zarathustrian, adj. & n.1859–
- Zarathustrianism, n.1864–
- Zarathustric, adj.1848–
- Zarathustrism, n.1871–
- zaratite, n.1858–
- zarcole, n.1585–
- zarda, n.1899–
- zardozi, n.1871–
- zarf | zurf, n.1836–
- zari, n.1969–
- zariba, n.1849–
- zariba, v.1885–
- zarnich, n.1612–
- Zarp, n.1895–
- zarzuela, n.1888–
- zat, n.1934–
- zatch, n.1950–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1899–A Persian and Indian sweet dish of rice cooked with saffron and often almonds and raisins or sultanas.
- 1899
Biryáni..is accompanied by zarda or saffroned and sugared rice with sultána raisins and almonds.
Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency vol. IX: pt. ii. iii. 113 - 1953
‘I know, I know, pulao, zarda, roast spiced fowl, silver-covered betel leaves, sherbet...’ His hunger dwelt on taste and smell, but the chaprassi continued undeterred.
A. Hosain, Phoenix Fled 168 - 1971
The silver coated, ice-cooled Banarasi patti stuffed with fragrant zardah is available at odd stalls.
Illustrated Weekly of India 4 April 53/1
- pilau1609–A dish, partly of Middle Eastern, partly and ultimately of South Asian origin, consisting of rice (or, in certain areas, wheat) cooked in stock with…
- mochi1616–In Japan: a cake made from glutinous rice, steamed and pounded, sometimes with the addition of other ingredients. Also (more fully mochi rice)…
- yellow rice1655–Cooked rice coloured yellow with annatto, saffron, or turmeric.
- kedgeree1662–An Indian dish of rice boiled with split pulse, onions, eggs, butter, and condiments; also, in European cookery, a dish made of cold fish, boiled…
- fried rice1795–(Esp. in Asian cookery) rice which is first boiled or steamed then lightly fried in a pan, now typically with egg, meat, or vegetables, and served…
- pilaf1814–= pilau, n. 1.
- congee1819–In Chinese cookery: a dish made from boiled rice, of the consistency of thick soup or porridge, and often flavoured with, or accompanied by, added…
- risotto1821–An Italian dish of rice cooked in stock with ingredients such as vegetables and meat or seafood. Also attributive, esp. in risotto rice.
- sticky rice1842–A variety of rice, grown mainly in South, South East, and East Asia, which becomes glutinous when cooked.
- nasi1853–In Malaysian and Indonesian cookery: cooked rice. Cf. nasi beryani, n., nasi goreng, n., nasi Padang, n.
- arroz1858–In Spanish or Latin American contexts (chiefly in the names of dishes): rice. Also: a rice dish.
- curry rice1859–A dish of rice and curry; (also) a dish of curried rice; (now chiefly) a Japanese dish of white rice with a curry sauce, which typically contains…
- jambalaya1872–A dish composed of rice together with shrimps, chicken, turkey, etc. Also figurative.
- rijsttafel1878–Esp. in Indonesian cookery: a meal consisting of a wide selection of dishes, including rice, from which diners help themselves.
- rice table1881–= rijsttafel, n.
- poule au riz1882–In French cookery: a dish of chicken cooked in stock with rice.
- ketupat1886–A small rice cake boiled in a pouch of woven palm leaves, originating in Indonesia but also popular in Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore.
- kiribath1886–A Sri Lankan dish made with rice cooked in coconut milk and formed into a block, typically sliced into diamond-shaped pieces and traditionally…
- paella?1892–A Spanish dish, consisting of saffron-flavoured rice, cooked and served in a large, shallow pan with chicken, seafood, vegetables, etc.
- sushi1893–A Japanese dish consisting of small balls of cold boiled rice flavoured with vinegar and commonly garnished with slices of fish or cooked egg. Also…
- rice and peas1898–A Caribbean dish traditionally consisting of rice and pigeon peas or kidney beans; cf. pea, n.² I.1b.
- omochi1899–In Japanese cookery: = mochi, n.¹
- zarda1899–A Persian and Indian sweet dish of rice cooked with saffron and often almonds and raisins or sultanas.
- strike me blind1901–(See quots.).
- pelau1907–In Caribbean cookery: a spicy dish of French Creole origin consisting of meat (typically chicken), rice, and pigeon peas.
- rice tafel1910–= rijsttafel, n.
- nasi goreng1917–In Malaysian and Indonesian cookery: a dish of savoury fried rice with a variety of ingredients including meat (occasionally also fish) and a sliced…
- donburi1922–In Japanese cookery: a dish consisting of rice topped with other ingredients, typically including seafood, meat, or vegetables, served in a bowl…
- saffron rice1926–Rice flavoured with saffron.
- perlow1931–= pilau, n. 1.
- biryani1932–A highly-spiced Indian dish made of meat or vegetables cooked with rice, saffron, and usually brown lentils.
- nasi lemak1935–In Southeast Asian cookery: a Malay dish of rice cooked in coconut milk and flavoured with pandan leaf, served with various garnishes (such as…
- puto1938–A steamed rice cake, typically eaten as a snack with butter and grated coconut or as an accompaniment to savoury dishes.
- onigiri1943–A Japanese dish consisting of small balls or triangles of rice stuffed with a pickled or salted filling, and typically wrapped in dried seaweed.
- cook-up1947–Caribbean. More fully cook-up rice. A Guyanese dish typically made with rice, peas or beans, meat, and coconut milk.
- idli1958–A steamed cake of rice and black gram, popular in southern India.
- jollof rice1959–(See quot. 1982).
- pongal1961–A rice dish prepared at the Tamil harvest festival, esp. one in which the rice is cooked in milk and sweetened and flavoured with jaggery, nuts…
- nasi beryani1963–In Malaysian and Indonesian cookery: a type of pilau.
- kimbap1966–A Korean dish consisting of cooked rice and other ingredients wrapped in a sheet of seaweed and cut into bite-sized slices.
- nasi Padang1971–In Malaysian and Indonesian cookery: a meal consisting of a main dish of rice served with various (esp. curried) side dishes of fish, meat…
- pilau rice1971–Rice cooked in stock with spices added, eaten as an accompaniment to a meal; rice of the kind used in a pilau.
- bibimbap1977–In Korean cookery: a dish consisting of rice topped with other ingredients, typically including sautéed vegetables, meat (esp. beef), and chilli…
- hand roll1982–In Japanese cookery: a type of hand-rolled sushi, typically consisting of a cone of seaweed filled with rice, fish, vegetables, etc. Frequently…
- tteokbokki1995–A Korean dish consisting of small, cylindrical rice cakes cooked in a spicy sauce made with gochujang, usually served as a snack (often as street…
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 zardah.Frequency
zarda typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zarda 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 zarda, n., 1890–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1890 | 0.0002 |
| 1900 | 0.0002 |
| 1910 | 0.0002 |
| 1920 | 0.0004 |
| 1930 | 0.0004 |
| 1940 | 0.0007 |
| 1950 | 0.0011 |
| 1960 | 0.0016 |
| 1970 | 0.0021 |
| 1980 | 0.0025 |
| 1990 | 0.0027 |
| 2000 | 0.0029 |
| 2010 | 0.0031 |