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

There can be nae mistake about the one, but folks may have vara unsettled notions of the other," said he, drily; "but we mauna quarrel, Kate dear; our time is e'en too short already.

From The O'Donoghue Tale Of Ireland Fifty Years Ago by Charles James Lever

Partial separations may be overlooked at the time of the accident and cause trouble later from bending of the bone, as in one variety of coxa vara.

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

It is not nearly so important in practice as coxa vara.

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

But John worked hard, bought varas in San Francisco whenever he had any spare cash, supplied almost the entire State with olives and olive-oil, and in time became a rich man.

From The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

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

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

Already we have one bulwark, which we have made level with their entrenchments; and we are raising our works one and one-half varas above them, so that we are dislodging them with our artillery.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 28 of 55 1637-38 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 Emma Helen Blair

Gay makes the height of Lima, at the corner of the church of Espiritu Santo, 172·2 Castilian varas; but most of his heights are incorrectly stated.

From Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests by Thomasina Ross