"umrah" - Word of the Day from the OED

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umrah, n.

ADDITIONS SERIES 1993

Islam.

(umra)  Also 9 omra, 9- umra. [Arab. umra.] 

    A lesser pilgrimage to Mecca made separately or at the same time as the hajj, and consisting of a number of devotional rituals performed within the city.

a1817 J. L. BURCKHARDT Trav. Arabia (1829) I. 180 The visit of the Omra is..an ancient custom. Mohammed retained the practice. 1841 J. M. RODWELL Koran 659 (Index), Visit (Umra) of the Holy places. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 421/1 Beside the hajj (great pilgrimage) Islam also recognizes the merit of the umra (or lesser pilgrimage). 1934 Encycl. Islam IV. 1017/1 The Muslim umra as a group of ceremonies forming a single whole also goes back to a pre-Muammadan institution. 1976 Daily Times (Lagos) 24 May 3/1 The board said that the fare for a pilgrim going for the Umrah has been fixed at 250. 1989 C. GLASSÉ Conc. Encycl. Islam 410/2 The consecrated garb for the umrah..is usually put on in Jeddah or at one of the mosques around the perimeter of the aram of Mecca.

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