Hegira

[ hi-jahy-ruh, hej-er-uh ]

noun

1. Islam. a variant spelling of Hijra ( def ).
2. (lowercase) Also hejira. any flight or journey to a more desirable or congenial place.

Hegira

/ ˈhɛdʒɪrə /

noun

1. the departure of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622 ad ; the starting point of the Muslim era
2. the Muslim era itself See also AH
3. often not capital an emigration escape or flight

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hegira¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Medieval Latin, from Arabic hijrah “emigration, flight, departure,” a derivative of the verb hajara “he departed”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hegira¹

C16: from Medieval Latin, from Arabic hijrah emigration or flight

Example Sentences

One has no recollection of things that happened before the Hegira.

From Project Gutenberg

The snow-drifts were still deep on the hills when, in the first days of March, we commenced our hegira to the far West.

From Project Gutenberg

The explanation of course was, that he had been brought as an infant on this famous Hegira of the Selkirk Colonists.

From Project Gutenberg

Then came the hegira, which ended, as all the world knows, at Philadelphia.

From Project Gutenberg

With this view, and under the modest title of the station of a caravan, he planted this colony in the fiftieth year of the Hegira.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• escape
• evacuation
• exit
• exodus
• flight
• passage
• removal
• retirement
• retreat
• separation
• takeoff
• walkout
• withdrawal