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

"But whar is Maister Cashel all this time?" said Sir Andrew; "methinks it wud na be vara polite na to hae his opinion upon a' this, syne he must gie the siller for it."

From Roland Cashel Volume II (of II) by Charles James Lever

"The young leddy says na mair than the fact; they're vara poor, and they 're vara dangerous!"

From The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. I (of II) by Charles James Lever

Come here,—ye canna do too much honor to a young leddy who has such a vara profound esteem for hersel'!

From The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. II (of II) by Charles James Lever

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

Here we stopped at half-past eleven o'clock at a little beach which is dry at low tide and where the boats have to retreat 200 varas in order not to be stranded.

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

You give two and a half varas of lienzo to each Indian, and the same for the canoe.

From The Andes and the Amazon Across the Continent of South America by James Orton

Thirty thousand varas of velvet in colors, at one-half peso, amount to fifteen thousand pesos.

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

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

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