Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A fragrant essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers: attar of roses.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In the East Indies, a general term for a perfume from flowers. In Europe it generally denotes only the attar or otto of roses, an essential oil made in Turkey and various other eastern countries, chiefly from the damask rose, Rosa Damascena. The yield is very small, 150 pounds of rose-leaves yielding less than an ounce of attar. The principal source of the attar of commerce is in the vicinity of Kazanlik, on the southern side of the Balkan mountains, in Eastern Rumelia. The pure oil solidifies at a temperature between 60 and 65 F. It is a well-known perfume, but the odor is agreeable only when diffused, being too powerful when it is concentrated. It is largely used in the scenting of snuff. Also written ottar, otto.
- n. The chemical composition of this valuable perfume has been carefully studied, and its principal constituent, geraniol (C10H18O), obtained from cheaper sources (as from the essential oil of Indian grass or Turkish geranium), is now — with perhaps the addition of some of the minor constituents, also from relatively cheap sources — offered for sale as synthetic attar of roses.
Wiktionary
- n. an essential oil extracted from flowers
- n. a perfume made from this oil
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A fragrant essential oil; esp., a volatile and highly fragrant essential oil obtained from the petals of roses.
WordNet 3.0
- n. essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers
Etymologies
- From Persian عطر (’atir, "scent"), from عطر (ʕiṭr, "perfume"). (Wiktionary)
- Persian 'aṭir, perfumed, from Arabic, aromatic; see ʿṭr in Semitic roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Yet here were beautiful Gûlistan roses (the exquisitely sweet little rose from which the attar is made), and English mignonette, and sweet-scented verbena and jasmine.”
“The valuable article of commerce known as attar of roses is made here in the following manner: -- On 40 pounds of roses are poured 60 pounds of water, and they are then distilled over a slow fire, and 30 pounds of rose water obtained.”
“This year it is Rosenthal -- valley of roses -- and sweet as their attar is his spell.”
“The flower is also extracted in India, but I can’t comment enough about its scent because I’ve only tried the attar, which is very subdued and not as heady as I expected.”
“Kannauj (Uttar Pradesh), Feb 6: Already unable to stand to the stiff competition from modern perfumes, the indigenous perfume industry locally known as 'attar' in Kannuaj town in Uttar Pradesh is now facing the wrath of the global meltdown.”
“Community members wear new clothes, apply 'attar' (perfume) before going for the sermon, and help those who cannot afford to, if they can.”
“The attar is always made at the beginning of the season, when the nights are cool; in the morning the little film of attar which is formed upon the surface of the rose-water during the night is removed by means of a feather, and it is then carefully placed in a small phial; and, day after day, as the collection is made, it is placed for a short period in the sun, and after a sufficient quantity has been procured, it is poured off clear, and of the color of amber, into small phials.”
“Talk about your attar o 'roses an' cologne factories!”
“ In the blink of an eye they lay in a field of roses, entwined, their every breath a small gasp of attar that danced to the rhythm of oboes.”
“There was an indefinable aroma in the air, a combination of the attar of roses, the incense of myrrh, of jasmine, of the cool of the marble, of the heat of a desert baked over many centuries.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘attar’.
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Of Arabic Origin
Arabic loanwords in English are words acquired directly from Arabic or else indirectly by passing from Arabic into other languages and then into English. Most entered one or more of the Romance lan...
admiral, adobe, albatross, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic, alfalfa, algebra, algorism, algorithm, alidade and 181 more...
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wallace
Remington, Windsor, prorector, wen, aver, mottle, seltzer, tepee, lapidary, effete, sotto, presbyopia and 355 more...
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doubtlessly reduntant
pedentive, pendentive, fantod, nonpareil, apposite, anfractuous, amanuensis, sherbet, erumpent, verdigris, styptic, tektitic and 24 more...
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Loanwords,Arabic
Everbody knows where 'hazard' came from,More Arabic Words?
admiral, adobe, albatross, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic, alfalfa, algebra, algorithm, alidade, alizarin and 34 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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Discovered Scrabble Words
Oh, that little smiling teacher tile in my Scrabble app. He teaches me so much.
lovage, khaf, tititi, leet, ketol, fon, ono, dunelike, braw, bocci, lutz, fano and 132 more...
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imogen's Words
coagitate, cloche, harum-scarum, foxglove, cryptolect, cant, roux, angora, duff, ulysse, schadenfreude, pepperpot and 315 more...
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Infinite Jest
Words taken from Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
prorector, monograph, post-fourier, snuffle, rototremble, creatus, enfilade, subanimalistic, balletic, espadrilles, leonine, cirri and 1153 more...
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delcj's Words
gavotte, perverse, tchotchkes, schmoop, divisural, triplicostate, albatross, snuggery, virgule, separatrix, solidus, tetrodotoxin and 116 more...
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The Innocents Abroad
Words rounded up while reading The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain.
rakish, excursionist, bowelless, pilgrimizing, melodeon, woebegone, abaft, sextant, veriest, behindhand, stanchion, avast and 188 more...
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learning
A list of words whose meanings I am learning, either because a) I don't know the meaning b) I know the meaning, but could stand to better appreciate certain inflections or secondary meanings or c) ...
louche, educe, loam, cob, sclerotic, palliate, axial, syndicalist, ecumenical, sally, fatuous, parvenu and 1387 more...
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new acquisitions
found in the wild (i.e., not on Wordie!)
samara, indehiscent, paschal, rogation, wen, rete, diriment, epicene, duramen, euhemerism, objurgate, canaille and 429 more...
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leaven heaven
a haven for lightness
leaven, lever, levity, alleviate, carnival, elevate, legerdemain, mezzo-relievo, relevant, relieve, leprechaun, lung and 36 more...
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library visits; other journeys in books
a specialised version of new acquisitions
indian file, sward, cassia, houri, bosky, paranomasia, farcy, manometric, mazagran, attar, arborescent
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scoutmd's Words
trousseau, retinue, cavil, beset, snit, forfend, nirvana, renascent, decamp, chocolate-box, flagrante delicto, philter and 24 more...
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2012 Words
Words looked up in 2012
portcullis, demonian, lanceolate, chamfer, ochreous, attar, verdure, palter, tergiversation, punctilios, pellucid, excrescence and 71 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for attar.

beautifulpyre Attar of Roses Apr 30, 2009