za

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“
To recite the Salát-ul-Janáza is a duty called Farz-i-kifáya, that is, if some few persons in the assembly say it, all need not do so; whilst if no one repeats it all will be guilty of sin.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun Slang Pizza.
  2. Our Living Language
    When young people today speak casually of ordering a za, "pizza,” they are unwittingly producing an expression that is quite interesting to language historians. Za derives from the full form pizza by a process known as clipping. Two types of clipping are common in English: dropping the unstressed syllables or syllables not receiving the primary word stress, as in fridge from refrigerator; and dropping all syllables after the first syllable, as in ab, dis, porn, and vibe, whether or not the first syllable was originally stressed. In the case of za, the syllable that was dropped was originally stressed and was the first syllable, which is unusual. Rents for "parents,” is another recent example of the same kind of clipping. Interestingly, we don't need to stay in the realm of contemporary youth slang to see the results of this unusual process. The words phone, bus, and wig (from telephone, omnibus, periwig) belong to Standard English but had their start as slangy or catchy neologisms formed by clipping stressed syllables, just like za. Who knows whether in fifty years za and rents will be as widely accepted as phone and wig are now? See Note at rent3.

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Examples (50)

  • You may copy, re-use or re-print any of this information as long as wine. co.za is quoted as source.
  • Whichfranchise. co.za is now South Africa's most frequently accessed resource in Google on franchising .......
  • Whichfranchise. co.za will be exhibiting at this year's Franchise and Business Opportunities Expo, held at Gallagher Estate, Midrand from 7 to 10 September 2006 .......
  • Launched in 1997, Jobs. co.za is South Africa's oldest recruitment website and has been re-discovered in 2008 under the new management of experienced online recruitment and int ... —  the Marketing community of South Africa
  • Many of his comparisons look rather far-fetched, eg on p. D: taməṭṭuṯ "woman" < Ar. ṭāmiṯ طامث "menstruator" argaz "man" < Ar. rakīza (tu l-'usrā) ركيزة الأسرى "pillar (of the family)" ixəf "head" < Ar. xf 'خفأ "appear", because the head stands out tadaγt "armpit" < Ar. daγdaγah دغدغة "tickling" alγəm "camel" < Ar. luγām لغام "the foam that comes out of camels' mouths " —  Jabal al-Lughat
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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Shortening and alteration of pizza.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. An arbitrary syllable.
  2. from Greek ζα-, inseparable prefix, intensive and augmentative.
 

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