Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Slang Pizza.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In solmization, a syllable once used for Bь.
- n. An intensive or augmentative prefix sometimes used in forming modern scientific words to emphasize the character or quality noted by the element to which it is prefixed (like E. very, a.), as in zalambdodont, having teeth with a very V-shaped ridge, Zalophus, Zamelodia, Zapus, etc.
Wiktionary
- n. obsolete A syllable formerly used in solfège to represent B flat.
- n. US slang, early 1980s Pizza.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Min.) An old solfeggio name for B flat; the seventh harmonic, as heard in the or æolian string; -- so called by Tartini. It was long considered a false, but is the true note of the chord of the flat seventh.
Etymologies
- Shortened from pizza. (Wiktionary)
- Shortening and alteration of pizza. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“For the herbal flavor in za'atar blend, many North American recipes use only dried domestic thyme, or a mixture of domestic thyme and domestic marjoram.”
All About Za'atar with Recipe for Za'atar Herb Blend and 5 Recipes for Using Za'atar
“The epicenter of great 'za is Wooster Square in New Haven, Connecticut.”
“The following herbs are often mistakenly referred to as za'atar: Syrian oregano (oreganum syricum), biblical hyssop, and thyme-leaved savory (satureja thryba), among others.”
“The most recent update, the fourth version, made way for "za" and its ilk, making the rare letters easier to play.”
The Wall Street Journal: Price Drop: Stocks, Homes, Now Triple-Word Scores
“For some -- especially opponents -- "za" is too cheap and easy.”
The Wall Street Journal: Price Drop: Stocks, Homes, Now Triple-Word Scores
“Sumac is sometimes incorporated into spice rubs, such as za'atar, which also consists of thyme, salt and toasted sesame seeds.”
“Now I've got a craving for some zayt w'za'atar like you described......i know what's for dinner tonight!”
“Radka szanuje i smialo moge stwierdzic, ze polubilam, wiec oby zawsze im to sloneczko swiecilo, ktore dzis im swieci. to jest Jego wybor, ale jesli jest rozsadny, to spojrzy na sprawe z roznych stron i chociaz jedno "za" i "przeciw" przemysli.”
“That'll be the game my ex beat me at because she knew the word 'za' was a word.”
“Acquittal sought for cross-dressed man in Dubai," by Bassam Za'za 'for GulfNews, July 7 (thanks to Miss Kelly):”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘za’.
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WWF WTF?
Ever play "Words With Friends" with someone and they throw down some strange, unlikely group of letters that makes even the most mild and squeaky clean tongued person say "whiskey tango foxtrot"? ...
oorie, sangar, merl, cwm, doum, weir, jura, invar, lawine, tapa, waw, shog and 376 more...
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All Things Scrabble
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Behind the Sofa
The monsters of Doctor Who.
dalek, cyberman, sycorax, pig slave, macra, carrionite, judoon, plasmavore, racnoss, slitheen, silurian, ood and 47 more...
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Annoying words that are surprisingly ...
Those foreign, abbreviated, hyphenated, or capitalized words that make you want to scream "aa" and throw the board at your opponent.
aa, za, qat, amu, tranq, memsahib, ka, jefe, biz, fem, qi, zaire and 3 more...
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Conversations
Words with interesting comments. This doesn't mean I'm adding schadenfreude.
sprite, footnote, ringxiety, firkin, jesus's, guys, möbius strip, mentions, waxed paper, za, hobby horse, ombrology and 54 more...
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Words Surprisingly Accepted by Scrabb...
Official Scrabble for the iPhone.
neb, rared, ae, begum, biner, pignut, nogs, qua, za, diss, qi
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Keyboard Hopscotch
You may start on any key. You may repeat a character, or travel to an adjacent key on the keyboard. On my qwerty keyboard, I may follow s with w, e, d, x, z, a, or (repeating) s. (If you use az...
assert, weeds, trews, treed, sewer, sewed, seeds, sawer, sawed, reeds, erred, asses and 65 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 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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"W-Z" words
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Acceptable two-letter Scrabble words
aa, ab, ad, ae, ag, ah, ai, al, am, an, ar, as and 89 more...
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I Live a (SOWPODS) Hardscrabble Life
aa, ad, ae, ah, ai, am, an, ar, as, at, aw, ax and 168 more...
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Scrabble words
xi, qat, naw, pyx, xu, qaid, vare, zebu, suq, zo, za, sez and 37 more...
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2 Letter Scrabble Words
All playable 2 letter Scrabble words from OSPD4
aa, ab, ad, ae, ag, ah, ai, al, am, an, ar, as and 87 more...
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scrabble
za, picacho, brosy, alba, evite, ancress, pyrexia, refugia, statice, diseuse, zori, vespine and 7 more...
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OSPD4 two-letter words
za, ye, ya, xu, xi, wo, we, ut, us, up, un, um and 88 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for za.

ruzuzu Further proof that it's perfectly acceptable as a Scrabble word. Apr 13, 2012
Greendragon "za is also a mode of a pungent and personal sexual insult leading to physical aggression including shooting poisoned arrows among the !Kung people." Before the Dawn by Nicholas Wade. Apr 12, 2012
mollusque I used the word in college (about thirty years ago), but assumed it had an apostrophe: "Let's get some 'za with 'shrooms." Jun 1, 2008
joanne it's an official scrabble word. therefore, obviously it is rife with legitimacy. May 30, 2008
reesetee Yum! Jun 20, 2007
slumry p. s. Would you care for a 'rita with your 'rita? Jun 20, 2007
uselessness I like margaritas too. Jun 20, 2007
slumry Thanks--I wondered about that as I sent it off; I think I have seen it without the h, but as you say, we see all sorts of things! I don't think I have ever written that word before. Jun 20, 2007
reesetee Slumry, I presume you're talking about margarita the pizza, not the drink? I've always seen it spelled margherita when referring to pizza. Then again, I've also seen marguerita.
Of course, we could solve that by just calling them all rita. ;-) Jun 20, 2007
slumry Me too, reesettee. I will leave the "za" for the young 'uns, and amuse myself by observing. I will, however, take the pizza, thank you. Currently margarita is my favorite--I will leave the pepporoni and suchlike for the young 'uns too.
Nota bene: I do not really say things like "suchlike" I don't want to be dismisunderstood. It is only a persona. Jun 20, 2007
reesetee Puh-zizzle?? Puh-leeze! ;-)
I don't know. Za just doesn't sound right. (How vague of me.) If that makes me sound old--well, so be it.
Signed,
The Ancient One Jun 20, 2007
trivet My parents always thought that saying "za" made them pretty cool (despite all assurances to the contrary). When they pronounced it, it was more of a "zAH!"... Jun 20, 2007
slumry zah. Not an exclamation. Intoned in a low voice, with a shrug...let's just get some za. Jun 20, 2007
uselessness Now that I could get into! :-P Jun 20, 2007
jennarenn puh-zizzle!!! Jun 20, 2007
uselessness I'm just trying to imagine how it's pronounced. Is it "zuh" or is it "ZAH!!!"? I guess the latter could be fun, but it's better suited as a goofy exclamation than another word for pizza. I think.
If I were to abbreviate pizza, I'd probably go with pize or something. Jun 20, 2007
slumry I just thought it was amusing, especially since it turns out not to be a new term. It it lazy, or is it a self-conscious affectation? People do use language to have fun, to identify with their particular group, etc. Jun 20, 2007
jennarenn This twenty-something says pizza. Jun 20, 2007
uselessness Certainly no offense to your niece or anyone else who says it, but this word is stupid and lazy. The word. Not the people. What's wrong with just saying pizza? Jun 20, 2007
slumry Yes, I heard it a few months ago from my 20-something niece. When I commented on it later, I was given to believe that everyone but me knew about this. Good to know I have company. Jun 20, 2007
reesetee I've never heard this one before! People actually say this? Hmm. Wouldn't think it would be so hard to pronounce a five-letter word that it would need clipping. Jun 20, 2007
slumry Pizza, formed by clipping Jun 18, 2007