haramn.1
/həˈrɑːm/, U.S. /hɑˈrɑm/ Islam.
A sacred area or precinct which provides the right of sanctuary, and in which certain activities, such as hunting, carrying weapons, and violence are forbidden; spec. such an area around each of the three holy sites of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem (access to the first two of which is prohibited to non-Muslims).In early usage sometimes apparently treated as a proper name.
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1615 W. Bedwell Arabian Trudgman in tr. Mohammedis Imposturæ sig. M4v Mecha, a city of Arabia Felix (Ayamen they call it) to which from all places of Turky, they make their yearly peregrinations, to visite the tombe of Mohammed. In this city is the temple Haram, so often mentioned in the Alkoran.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 151 Hence it is that there are two places which are called Haramein [Fr. Haramein], Sacred Places, to wit, Mecha and Medina, that is to say, which are two Holy Places, where one should take heed not to set his foot, unless he be well washed from all Sin.
1731 tr. H. de Boulainvilliers Life Mahomet i. 52 This city, is divided into two parts; that to the North..is called Bekka..and the other..is named Haram [Fr. Haram] with respect to the sanctification of the temple which it surrounds.
1855 R. F. Burton Personal Narr. Pilgrimage to El-Medinah II. xv. 42 We all set out in a body to the Haram..a duty which must not be delayed by the pious.
1874 A. Thomson In the Holy Land 106 On the summit of Mount Moriah..there spreads the noble inclosure of the Haram.
1929 E. D. Ross tr. H. Lammens Islām i. 18 All round stretched the ḥaram, sacred territory affording the right of sanctuary to all living things, men and animals. Even the trees of the ḥaram must be religiously respected.
1981 F. M. Donner Early Islamic Conquests i. iii. 35 An uncooperative tribesman or tribal group could..be banned from the ḥaram and its associated market.
2003 J. Wintle Hist. Islam: Rough Guide 9 Crucially, the Kabah was surrounded by a haram, a traditional Arab sanctuary inside whose precincts tribal feuding or any other kind of violence was forbidden.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
haramadj.n.2
/həˈrɑːm/, U.S. /hɑˈrɑm/ A. adj.
Forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law. Cf. halal adj.
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1797 R. Heron tr. C. Niebuhr in tr. C. Niebuhr et al. Coll. Voy. & Trav. 149 If the dogs have eaten any of it [sc. game], it is haram, that is, it must not be eaten. Neither dare they eat any beast that has been killed without the effusion of blood.
1844 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 14 103 By God falsehood is harám (forbidden).
1898 M. Yūsuf, Khan Bahadur Mahomedan Law III. 408 A free wife becomes absolutely Haram by three divorces.
1960 Geogr. Rev. 50 457 Most Muslims are profoundly conscious of what is halal (clean or permitted) and haram (unclean or forbidden).
1984 G. Jennings Journeyer (1988) Baghdad iii. 220 Women's play is halal, which means allowable, not haram.
2007 Harper's Mag. Mar. 36/1 Some Islamic scholars consider tobacco to be haram, or forbidden by the Koran.
B. n.2
That which is forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law. In quot. 1810, the state or condition of not living in accordance with Islamic law.
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1810 A. N. Matthews tr. Mishcàt-ul-Maśábìh II. xii. 2 He who falls into doubts, is near falling into Haràm, (or the unlawful).
1907 F. A. Martin Under Absolute Amir xvi. 284 Among the Afghans birds and animals are broadly divided into two classes, ‘halal’ and ‘haram’.
1969 Jrnl. Relig. in Afr. 2 185 Members of a youth league in Nairobi were told..they must remember..what halal and haram are.
1989 Islamic Q. 33 222 The ulama' are unanimous..that its ruling with regard to halāl and harām stand [sic] on the same footing as the Qur'ān.
1995 Independent 5 Dec. (Suppl.) 4/1 (Gloss.) Haram, anything forbidden under Islamic law, including lending money at interest.
2004 Muslim Weekly 11 June 26/1 Dr. Dubaiyan..asked to define what halal and haram is for the benefit of all society, for the Muslim community and Muslim countries.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11615adj.n.21797- to maintain one's ground
- to maintain one's own
- to maintain the field
- to make a
- to make a baby
- to make a bad job of
- to make a bad landfall
- to make a balk
- to make a balk of good ground
- to make a balls of
- to make a bauchle of
- to make a baulk
- to make a bed
- to make a beeline
- to make a better door than a window
- to make a bid for
- to make a big etc show of
- to make a big great show of
- to make a big show of
- to make a block
- to make a bloomer
- to gain a livelihood
- to gain a march on
- to gain a march upon
- to gain an offing