avania means A tax or fee imposed on foreigners under the Ottoman Empire, especially one considered to be irregular or extortionate. It carries an Arena rating of 1335, earned across 40 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, avania ranks #1,407 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,138 of 17,105 for Most Storied Words, #2,253 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,802 of 17,131 for Scariest Words.
avania is pronounced /ˌavəˈniːə/.
Why “avania” is a great word
AVANIA — [Noun] An extortionate or irregular tax or fee, specifically one capriciously imposed on foreigners under the Ottoman Empire. Borrowed from Italian avania, from Byzantine Greek ἀβανία (abanía, cf. modern Greek αβανιά (avaniá) “defamation, slander”), possibly from Arabic خَوَّان (ḵawwān, “unreliable, treacherous”). Earliest known use in the late 1600s. Unlike "tribute" (a formal, periodic levy of submission) or "tariff" (an official, published schedule of duties), an avania is the opportunistic gouge, the price of existing as an outsider. It is the sudden, sour assessment from a local official whose palm must be greased, the "fee for safe passage" levied at a crumbling gate, or the arbitrary duty added to a merchant's ledger with a shrug—the casual violence of bureaucracy, distilled into a coin.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian avania, from Byzantine Greek ἀβανία (abanía, cfr. modern Greek αβανιά (avaniá) “defamation, slander”), possibly from Arabic خَوَّان (ḵawwān, “unreliable, treacherous”).
noun
- A tax or fee imposed on foreigners under the Ottoman Empire, especially one considered to be irregular or extortionate.e.g.“The merchants are considered as more immediately under the protection of the Mohassil, and therefore not so subject to the Avanias made by the Bashaw.” — 1794, Alex Russell, The Natural History of Aleppo, 2nd edition, page 330:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- abwab 56% match — A tax, or impost, levied by a chief on a landowner. vs avania →
- caphar 54% match — A toll or duty imposed by the Turks on Christian merchants. vs avania →
- ayakut 53% match — A tax or water rate imposed by the British on farmers in India during the British colonial period for using water from wells, canals, or other water sources. vs avania →
- avarian 53% match — Of or relating to Avaria. vs avania →
- yasak 52% match — An in-kind tribute in Imperial Russia exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia, usually in fur. vs avania →
- impost 51% match — A tax, tariff or duty that is imposed, especially on merchandise. vs avania →
- scavage 50% match — A tax on non-resident merchant goods by city officials for resident merchant advantage, similar to a tariff. vs avania →
- maltaxation 49% match — Taxation imposed in an exaggerate, unjust, or unlawful way. vs avania →