zakat means almsgiving, usually in the form of an annual tax on certain types of property which is then used for charitable purposes; the third of the five pillars of Islam. It carries an Arena rating of 1539, earned across 41 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, zakat ranks #3,593 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #4,460 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,811 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #4,885 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
zakat is pronounced /zəˈkɑːt/.
Why “zakat” is a great word
ZAKAT — [Noun] The obligatory annual payment on wealth, constituting one of the five pillars of Islam and distributed for prescribed communal and charitable purposes. From Persian زکات (zakât), Turkish zekât, or Urdu زکات (zakāt), all from Arabic زَكَاة (zakāh, "almsgiving, purification"), itself from Aramaic זכותא/ܙܟܘܬܐ (zākūṯā, "goodness, merit"), from the root זכי (zəḵē, "to gain, to triumph"). First attested in English c. 1791. Unlike *sadaqah* (which is voluntary, discretionary charity) or *tithe* (a Christian or Jewish tenth, differing in basis and calculation), zakat is a fixed pillar, a ritual calculus of compassion. It is the measured grain separated from the harvest, the counted coins passed to the orphan, and the quiet transfer that sustains the widow—a purification of possession that transforms mere wealth into a covenant of care, acknowledging all prosperity is held in trust, not as a trophy but as a current that must flow.
Etymology
Borrowed from: * Persian زکات (zakât); * Turkish zekât, from Ottoman Turkish زكات (zekat); or * Urdu زَکَات (zakāt); all from Arabic زَكَاة (zakāh, “almsgiving, zakat; purification”), from زَكَوٰة (zakāh) (archaic), from Aramaic זכותא/ܙܟܘܬܐ (zākūṯā, “goodness, probity, uprightness; merit; victory”), from זכי (zəḵē, “to gain; to overcome, triumph over”).
noun
- Almsgiving, usually in the form of an annual tax on certain types of property which is then used for charitable purposes; the third of the five pillars of Islam.
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.
- zadakat 71% match — Voluntary alms, or righteous acts. vs zakat →
- sadaqa 61% match — Alms, charity. vs zakat →
- almsgiving 60% match — The act of voluntarily giving alms, of making donations to the poor, charity. vs zakat →
- sawm 55% match — Fasting, abstention, abstinence; the third of the five pillars of Islam. vs zakat →
- fidyah 55% match — A religious donation of money or food made to help those in need, as a forfeit by somebody who has missed a fast out of necessity. vs zakat →
- alms 55% match — Something given to the poor as charity, such as money, clothing or food. vs zakat →
- almonage 54% match — Almsgiving, gift. vs zakat →
- kaffara 54% match — A religious donation of money or food made to help those in need, as a forfeit by somebody who has missed a fast unnecessarily. vs zakat →