zambranoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zambra mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zambra. 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 zambra?
| 1800 | 0.0031 |
| 1810 | 0.003 |
| 1820 | 0.0032 |
| 1830 | 0.0039 |
| 1840 | 0.0033 |
| 1850 | 0.0045 |
| 1860 | 0.0049 |
| 1870 | 0.0053 |
| 1880 | 0.005 |
| 1890 | 0.005 |
| 1900 | 0.0044 |
| 1910 | 0.0042 |
| 1920 | 0.0042 |
| 1930 | 0.0042 |
| 1940 | 0.0042 |
| 1950 | 0.0045 |
| 1960 | 0.0044 |
| 1970 | 0.0044 |
| 1980 | 0.0045 |
| 1990 | 0.0039 |
| 2000 | 0.0036 |
| 2010 | 0.0033 |
How is the noun zambra pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zambra come from?
Earliest known use
late 1600s
The earliest known use of the noun zambra is in the late 1600s.
OED's earliest evidence for zambra is from 1672, in the writing of John Dryden, poet, playwright, and critic.
zambra is a borrowing from Spanish.
Nearby entries
- Zamak, n.1926–
- zamang, n.1819–
- zamarra, n.1841–
- zama zama, n.2006–
- Zamazim, n.a1400–
- Zambian, adj. & n.1959–
- Zambianization, n.1964–
- Zambianize, v.1964–
- zambo, n.1819–
- Zamboni, n.1965–
- zambra, n.1672–
- zambuk, n.1906–
- zamburak, n.1825–
- zami, n.1977–
- Zamia, n.1819–
- zamindar, n.1683–
- zamindari, n. & adj.1742–
- zamindarship, n.1698–1902
- zamioid, adj.1860–
- zamorin, n.1582–
- zampino, n.1881–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1672–A Spanish or Moorish dance.
- 1672
Fair Almahide..Prepares a Zambra to be danc'd this Night.
J. Dryden, Conquest of Granada i.i. i. 12 - 1832
In wanton Seville, where black-eyed damsels dance the zambra under every orange grove.
W. Irving, Alhambra vol. II. 46 - 1906
The knights..often joined them in the graceful dance of the zambra.
19th Century June 942
- canary1592–In singular and (formerly) plural. A lively dance similar to the jig or gigue; a piece of music intended to accompany this dance. Frequently with the.
- zambra1672–A Spanish or Moorish dance.
- seguidilla1763–A Spanish dance in ¾ or 3/8 time; also the music for such a dance.
- bolero1787–A lively Spanish dance; also the air to which it is danced.
- folia1790–A Spanish dance similar to the fandango. Also, music for such a dance.
- malagueña1810–a. A Spanish dance resembling the fandango, from the region of Malaga. b. An emotional Spanish Gypsy song, sometimes associated with performance of…
- guaracha1828–‘A lively Spanish dance in 3/8 or 3/4 time, usually accompanied on the guitar by the dancer himself’ (Stainer & Barrett 1876). Also, the music…
- polo?1830–A style of song in flamenco music; the dance performed to a song in this style.
- cachucha1841–A lively Spanish dance.
- romalis1841–A traditional Spanish dance; = ole, n.¹
- ole1845–A Spanish folk dance which is accompanied by castanets and singing.
- zapateado1845–A flamenco dance which involves complex rhythmic syncopated stamping of the heels and toes in imitation of castanets.
- jota1846–A Spanish folk dance in ¾ or 3/8 time. Also, the music of this dance.
- rondeña1853–A flamenco-style dance or song of southern Spain.
- jaleo1865–A lively Andalusian dance, or the clapping that accompanies it.
- flamenco1896–A Spanish style of singing or dancing; a song or dance in this style.
- tango1896–A Spanish flamenco dance.
- bulerias1918–A type of fast-paced flamenco dance; (also) a piece of lively music for this dance, usually played on the guitar and accompanied by singing.
- paso doble1919–A fast-paced ballroom dance based on a Latin American style of marching. Also: the music for such a dance, typically in duple time.
- farruca1931–A local Spanish dance.
- seguiriyas1967–In full, seguiriyas gitana: a regional variety of flamenco music; the song or dance which accompanies this.
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.
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
zambra typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zambra 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 zambra, n., 1800–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1800 | 0.0031 |
| 1810 | 0.003 |
| 1820 | 0.0032 |
| 1830 | 0.0039 |
| 1840 | 0.0033 |
| 1850 | 0.0045 |
| 1860 | 0.0049 |
| 1870 | 0.0053 |
| 1880 | 0.005 |
| 1890 | 0.005 |
| 1900 | 0.0044 |
| 1910 | 0.0042 |
| 1920 | 0.0042 |
| 1930 | 0.0042 |
| 1940 | 0.0042 |
| 1950 | 0.0045 |
| 1960 | 0.0044 |
| 1970 | 0.0044 |
| 1980 | 0.0045 |
| 1990 | 0.0039 |
| 2000 | 0.0036 |
| 2010 | 0.0033 |