qurbani · noun — the sacrifice of a livestock animal during Eid al-Adha. It carries an Arena rating of 1390, earned across 50 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, qurbani ranks #2,159 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words, #3,562 of 17,166 for Most Vivid Words, #3,772 of 17,195 for Most Exacting Words, #4,736 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words.
Why “qurbani” is a great word
QURBANI — [Noun] The Islamic ritual sacrifice of a livestock animal, performed during Eid al-Adha as an act of devotion. Borrowed from Urdu قُرْبَانی (qurbānī), from Classical Persian قُرْبَانِی (qurbānī), ultimately from Arabic قُرْبَان (qurbān, "sacrifice, offering"), from the Semitic root Q-R-B meaning "closeness, nearness". Unlike udhiyah, which emphasizes the legalistic framework of the rite, or the general term sacrifice, which can be secular and lacks this specific devotional intent, qurbani is the enacted prayer of proximity. It is the flash of the blade in the morning sun, the precise geometry of meat divided for family, neighbor, and the poor, and the scent of smoke and searing fat that hangs over a neighbourhood—a tangible economy of faith where life is given to affirm life, a visceral calculus that draws the mundane act of provision into the orbit of the divine.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Urdu قُرْبَانی (qurbānī), from Classical Persian قُرْبَانِی (qurbānī), ultimately from Arabic قُرْبَان (qurbān).
noun
- The sacrifice of a livestock animal during Eid al-Adha.
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.
- korban 69% match — a ritual sacrifice of a livestock animal at Eid ul-Adha vs qurbani →
- aqiqah 59% match — The sacrifice of an animal after childbirth. vs qurbani →
- bairam 53% match — Eid, either of two Muslim festivals held after Ramadan. vs qurbani →
- sacrificature 53% match — Sacrifice. vs qurbani →
- corban 52% match — An offering to God, especially in fulfilment of a vow. vs qurbani →
- ibadah 52% match — Islamic worship and the associated submission and obedience. vs qurbani →
- criobolium 51% match — The ritual slaughter of a ram. vs qurbani →
- dhabihah 51% match — The prescribed Islamic method of ritual slaughter of animals to produce halal meat, consisting of a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the throat, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides but leaving the spinal cord intact. vs qurbani →