Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The tenth day of Muharram, observed as a holy day of mourning by Shiites on the anniversary of the death of Hussein, grandson of Muhammad.
  • noun The tenth day of Muharram, observed in Sunni Islam as an optional day of fasting established by Muhammad.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Islam a holy day falling on the 10th day of Muharram, commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali in 680 AD.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Arabic ‘āšūrā’, the tenth day of Muharram kept as a day of fasting by Arabs in pre-Islamic times, Ashura, ultimately (probably via Aramaic *‘āsorā) from Hebrew ‘āśôr, a set of ten (days, etc.), decade (used in Leviticus to specify the date of Yom Kippur, the tenth day of Tishri), from ‘eśer, ten; see עśr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Arabic عاشوراء (ʿāšūrāʾ, "tenth, tenth day").

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Examples

  • Qassem Zein/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images ASHURA FESTIVAL: Shiite Muslims carried candles outside the Imam Ali shrine during an Ashura ceremony Sunday in the Najaf, Iraq.

    Today's Photos: Jan. 5 2009

  • But the word Ashura literally means 10th because it's observed on 10th day of the first month of the Islamic year.

    CNN Transcript Dec 27, 2009 2009

  • Iranian army officer announced yesterday that the Iranian revolution guards formed 300 fighting groups under the name "Karbala", and 40 brigades under the name Ashura'a supported by

    Roads to Iraq 2008

  • Iranian army officer announced yesterday that the Iranian revolution guards formed 300 fighting groups under the name "Karbala", and 40 brigades under the name Ashura'a supported by

    Roads to Iraq 2008

  • Iranian army officer announced yesterday that the Iranian revolution guards formed 300 fighting groups under the name "Karbala", and 40 brigades under the name Ashura'a supported by

    Roads to Iraq 2008

  • Iranian army officer announced yesterday that the Iranian revolution guards formed 300 fighting groups under the name "Karbala", and 40 brigades under the name Ashura'a supported by

    Roads to Iraq 2008

  • Iranian army officer announced yesterday that the Iranian revolution guards formed 300 fighting groups under the name "Karbala", and 40 brigades under the name Ashura'a supported by

    Roads to Iraq 2008

  • Promoted to Headline (H3) on 1/9/10: Demonstrations in Tehran: yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Demonstrations in Tehran:'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Article: It was the day of "Ashura" - the most sacred day of the Shiite sect of Islam.

    Demonstrations in Tehran: 2010

  • Promoted to Headline (H3) on 1/9/10: Demonstrations in Tehran: yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Demonstrations in Tehran:'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Article: It was the day of "Ashura" - the most sacred day of the Shiite sect of Islam.

    Demonstrations in Tehran: 2010

  • Promoted to Headline (H3) on 1/9/10: Demonstrations in Tehran: yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Demonstrations in Tehran:'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Page 3 of Article: Article: It was the day of "Ashura" - the most sacred day of the Shiite sect of Islam.

    Demonstrations in Tehran: 2010

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