Hegira
Americannoun
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Islam. a variant spelling of Hijra.
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(lowercase) Also hejira any flight or journey to a more desirable or congenial place.
noun
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the departure of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622 ad ; the starting point of the Muslim era
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the Muslim era itself See also AH
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(often not capital) an emigration escape or flight
Etymology
Origin of Hegira
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Medieval Latin, from Arabic hijrah “emigration, flight, departure,” a derivative of the verb hajara “he departed”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My own Hegira is a two-block schlep to a neighborhood bagel place, so I’m not the ideal audience for this heady Kerouacian stuff.
From Slate • Mar. 12, 2021
The great Hegira, led by Charles E. Hughes, was at the cordial invitation of the Bench and Bar of England.
From Time Magazine Archive
This point, the Hegira, is the beginning of the Moslem calendar.
From Time Magazine Archive
After cautious reconnoitering, Mohammed sent his band thither on the so-called Great Hegira.
From Time Magazine Archive
The 18th of the month Schewal, in the 837th year of the Hegira.
From Voltaire's Romances, Complete in One Volume by
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
