bazaar

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bəˈzɑː(ɹ)/ (UK); /bəˈzɑɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian bazarra,^[2][3][4] from Persian بازار (bāzār, “market”).^[5][6][3][2] The American Heritage Dictionary adds that English also took the word from Urdu بازار (bāzār).^[5] Barnhart suggests an influence from an earlier French Bathzar (1432).^[3] Etymonline traces the Persian word to Old Iranian *vaha-carana “sale, traffic”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An Eastern market-place, usually a street of shops or stalls (1580s).^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

The OED has an isolated quotation from about 1340, while Barnhart and Etymonline date the word to the 1580s and Merriam-Webster to 1612.^[7][3][2][6] In the early 19th century the word was applied in Britain to fancy fairs imitating Eastern markets, especially sales for charity (1807),^[7] and to shops selling many kinds of goods.^[5][4]

Timeline

• about 1340 – an Eastern market (single early quotation in the OED).^[7]
• 1588 – as bazar.^[3]
• 1803 – a market in an Eastern military camp.^[7]
• 1807 – a fancy fair for the sale of goods for charity.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A market of shops and stalls, especially in the Middle East or South Asia.
2. A shop selling a wide variety of goods.
3. A sale of assorted goods, often for charity.

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press