Standard Lemma guide

sawm

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Fasting, abstention, abstinence; the third of the five pillars of Islam.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: Islam, lifestyle, religion

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the third pillar of Islam is fasting (primarily during the month of Ramadan); Muslims abstain from food and drink and gambling and all sensuous pleasures from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: abstinence, pillar of Islam

History

Etymology

From Arabic صَوْم (ṣawm, “fasting; abstaining from food, drink, and sex”), probably borrowed from Classical Syriac ܨܘܡܐ (ṣawmāʾ).

Across languages

Translations

42 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: صَوْم (ṣawm) — Islamic fasting
  • Arabic: صِيَام (ṣiyām) — Islamic fasting
  • Armenian: սաում (saum) — Islamic fasting
  • Azerbaijani: oruc — Islamic fasting
  • Bengali: রোজা (rōja) — Islamic fasting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 齋戒 /斋戒 (zhāijiè) — Islamic fasting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 禁食 (jìnshí) — Islamic fasting
  • Dhivehi: ރޯދަ (rōda) — Islamic fasting
  • Finnish: saum — Islamic fasting
  • French: saoum — Islamic fasting
  • Georgian: საუმი (saumi) — Islamic fasting
  • German: Saum — Islamic fasting
  • Hindi: रोज़ा (rozā) — Islamic fasting
  • Indonesian: puasa — Islamic fasting
  • Indonesian: saum — Islamic fasting
  • Japanese: サウム (saumu) — Islamic fasting
  • Kazakh: ораза (oraza) — Islamic fasting
  • Korean: 사움 (saum) — Islamic fasting
  • Central Kurdish: ڕۆژوو (rojû) — Islamic fasting
  • Northern Kurdish: rojî — Islamic fasting
  • Kyrgyz: орозо (orozo) — Islamic fasting
  • Malay: puasa — Islamic fasting
  • Malayalam: വ്രതം (vrataṁ) — Islamic fasting
  • Marathi: रोजा (rojā) — Islamic fasting
  • Pashto: روژه — Islamic fasting
  • Persian: روزه (roza) — Islamic fasting
  • Polish: saum — Islamic fasting
  • Portuguese: sawm — Islamic fasting
  • Punjabi: روزہ (roza) — Islamic fasting
  • Russian: ураза́ (urazá) — Islamic fasting
  • Russian: са́ум (sáum) — Islamic fasting
  • Russian: пост (post) — Islamic fasting
  • Sinhalese: සව්ම් (sawm) — Islamic fasting
  • Spanish: sawm — Islamic fasting
  • Tagalog: saum — Islamic fasting
  • Tajik: рӯза (rüza) — Islamic fasting
  • Tatar: ураза (uraza) — Islamic fasting
  • Thai: ศีลอด (sǐin-òt) — Islamic fasting
  • Turkish: oruç — Islamic fasting
  • Ottoman Turkish: اوروج (oruç) — Islamic fasting
  • Urdu: روزہ (roza) — Islamic fasting
  • Uzbek: roʻza — Islamic fasting