purdah means A curtain, especially one used in some Hindu or Muslim traditions to conceal women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers. It carries an Arena rating of 1692, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, purdah ranks #1,984 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,031 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,581 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,840 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
purdah is pronounced /ˈpɜːdə/.
Why “purdah” is a great word
A system of secluding women from the sight of men or strangers through the use of curtains, screens, or concealing garments, observed in some Muslim and Hindu traditions. From Hindustani پردہ / पर्दा (pardā), from Classical Persian پرده (pardah, 'curtain, screen'), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- ('flat'). Unlike a 'veil,' which is a specific article of cloth, or 'seclusion,' a pale general term, purdah is the entire architecture of gendered invisibility—a social doctrine made physical. It is the heavy drape drawn across a doorway, the lattice screen casting a fragmented shadow, and the enveloping cloth that turns a person into a silhouette; it is the physical manifestation of a world divided into seen and unseen, where space itself is negotiated.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindustani پردہ / पर्दा (pardā), and its etymon Classical Persian پرده (pardah, “curtain; screen; (archaic) veil”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Doublet of patka.
noun
- A curtain, especially one used in some Hindu or Muslim traditions to conceal women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers.e.g.“As she passed through the dining-room she heard, behind the purdah that cloaked the drawing-room door, her husband's voice, […]” — 1909, Rudyard Kipling, “A Wayside Comedy”, in Under the Deodars (The Works of Rudyard Kipling), Edinburgh de Luxe edition, Boston, Mass.; London: The Edinburgh Society, →OCLC, page 64:
- A long veil or other attire covering most of the body, worn by women in some Muslim societies.
- The situation or system of secluding women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers, in some Muslim and Hindu traditions, by using a curtain or screen, and/or wearing a face veil or attire covering most of the body.
- Keeping apart; isolation, seclusion; also, concealment, secrecy.e.g.“The diagnosis of Kit's malady was soon verified, and Fleur went into purdah.” — 1928 July, John Galsworthy, “Measles”, in Swan Song, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, part II, page 143:
- The period between the announcement of an election or referendum and its conclusion, during which civil servants refrain from making policy announcements or taking actions that could be seen as advantageous to certain candidates in the election.e.g.“Despite Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris's reassurance that "the White Paper is coming" it was further delayed by the period of purdah that preceded local elections held on May 6.” — 2021 June 2, “Network News: ‘Root and Branch’ Review Three Years in the Making”, in Rail, number 932, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10:
- A striped cotton cloth which is used to make curtains.
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.
- burqa 59% match — An enveloping Central Asian garment which covers the whole body, incorporating a netted screen to cover the eyes, chiefly worn by women in fundamentalist denominations of Islam to observe sartorial hijab (the practice of wearing concealing clothing in front of adult men after the age of puberty). vs purdah →
- becurtain 59% match — To curtain; bedeck or cover with a curtain; (by extension, figurative) to shroud. vs purdah →
- chadri 57% match — A chador or a burka. vs purdah →
- ghoonghat 56% match — A headscarf worn by married Hindu, Jain and Sikh women. vs purdah →
- tudung 56% match — headscarf, especially a form of the hijab worn among Muslim women vs purdah →
- dupatta 56% match — A double layer of cloth worn by women as a scarf, veil etc. vs purdah →
- yashmak 55% match — A veil worn by Muslim women to cover parts of the face when they are in public. vs purdah →
- awrah 55% match — The parts of the body that are required to be covered for reasons of modesty, with the specific areas varying by sect, gender, and context (such as in the presence of men versus women). vs purdah →