vara

American  

[vahr-uh, vah-rah, vah-ruh] / ˈvɑr ə, ˈvɑ rɑ, ˈvɑ rə /

noun

• varas
  plural

1. a unit of length in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, varying from about 32 inches (81 centimeters) to about 43 inches (109 centimeters).

2. the square vara, used as a unit of area.

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vara British  

/ ˈvɑːrə /

noun

1. a unit of length used in Spain, Portugal, and South America and having different values in different localities, usually between 32 and 43 inches (about 80 to 108 centimetres)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• varas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vara

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Spanish, from Latin vāra “forked pole,” noun use of feminine of vārus “crooked, bent”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vara varas

When you put it all together, “en vara asado” sounds a lot like “embarazado.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2021

It is a precious stone of great beauty and is half a vara long.”

From The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations by Zelia Nuttall

It's joost a vara keeyourious thing, sir, and joost new coom oop.

From The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 2, 1857-1870 by Mamie Dickens

The hand deviates to the side on which the growth has been arrested—manus valga or vara.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

The greatest difficulty is met with in cases in which the disease occurs as mon-articular affection in adolescents, for the resemblance to tuberculous disease of the hip and to coxa vara may be close.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

Pieces of thin, fine silk, which contain about twenty varas, arc worth three and one-half and four taes.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 19 of 55 1620-1621 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. by James Alexander Robertson

Seven hundred varas of Castilian sail-cloth at six reals a vara.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 12 of 55 1601-1604 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by James Alexander Robertson

Where the water runs, the stream is half a vara deep and 4 varas across, and in other places it widens and contains more water.

From The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by Sherburne Friend Cook

He sent for damask for the flag to the sea of Damascus; and six varas of it cost less than one in Nueva España.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 18 of 55 1617-1620 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by James Alexander Robertson

Two streets, each 10 varas wide, opened out on the longer sides, and three on each of the shorter sides.

From The Old Franciscan Missions Of California by George Wharton James