Purdah

Quick meaning: Purdah is a noun meaning A long veil or other attire covering most of the body, worn by women in some Muslim societies.

Meaning

A long veil or other attire covering most of the body, worn by women in some Muslim societies.

More Meanings

1. Keeping apart; isolation, seclusion; also, concealment, secrecy.
2. A striped cotton cloth which is used to make curtains.
3. (countable, chiefly South Asia, also figuratively) A curtain, especially one used in some Hindu or Muslim traditions to conceal women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers.
4. The situation or system of secluding women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers, in some Muslim and Hindu traditions, by using a curtain or screen, and/or wearing a face veil or attire covering most of the body.
5. The period between the announcement of an election or referendum and its conclusion, during which civil servants refrain from making policy announcements or taking actions that could be seen as advantageous to certain candidates in the election.

Example Sentences

The diagnosis of Kit's malady was soon verified, and Fleur went into purdah.

"Come and see my wife a little then," said Hamidullah, and they spent twenty minutes behind the purdah.

As she passed through the dining-room she heard, behind the purdah that cloaked the drawing-room door, her husband's voice, […]

Still, though the lettrist movement was not casual—members might be fined, put in purdah, or even expelled for malingering—aesthetic pluralism remained in effect.

Word Forms

• purdahs
• purda

Synonyms for purdah

Depending on context, synonyms include solitude.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include solitude, veil, pardah, purda, purdahnashin, burkha.

Related Dictionary Tools