Ramadan

[ rahm-uh-dahn, rahm-uh-dahn, ram-uh-dan ]

nounIslam.
  1. the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

  2. the festival celebrated during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, commemorating the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad: observed with strict fasting from dawn till sunset and, often, feasting and festivities after sunset.

Origin of Ramadan

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Arabic ramaḍān, from ramaḍ “dryness, scorchedness,” from ramiḍa “to become intensely hot, be scorched”

Words Nearby Ramadan

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How to use Ramadan in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Ramadan

Ramadan

Rhamadhan Ramazan (ˌræməˈzɑːn)

/ (ˌræməˈdɑːn) /


noun
  1. the ninth month of the Muslim year, lasting 30 days, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset

  2. the fast itself

Origin of Ramadan

1
C16: from Arabic, literally: the hot month, from ramad dryness

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Ramadan

Ramadan

[ (ram-uh-dahn) ]


A holy month in Islam; the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Devout Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset during each day of Ramadan.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.