zakat

Meanings

1. Almsgiving, usually in the form of an annual tax on certain types of property which is then used for charitable purposes; the third of the five pillars of Islam.

Etymology

Borrowed from: * Persian زکات (zakât); * Turkish zekât, from Ottoman Turkish زكات (zekat); or * Urdu زَکَات (zakāt); all from Arabic زَكَاة (zakāh, “almsgiving, zakat; purification”), from زَكَوٰة (zakāh) (archaic), from Aramaic זכותא/ܙܟܘܬܐ (zākūṯā, “goodness, probity, uprightness; merit; victory”), from זכי (zəḵē, “to gain; to overcome, triumph over”).