Definitions

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

  • noun The evening meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan, traditionally featuring the fruit of the date palm as a first course.

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

  • noun Islam the evening meal (of dates) that breaks each day's fast during Ramadan

Etymologies

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

[Arabic ‘ifṭār, verbal noun of ‘afṭara, to break a fast, from faṭara, to break; see pṭr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Arabic إفطار (ʾifṭār)

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Examples

  • Companies are scaling back the events, called iftar receptions, seen as important opportunities to network with business partners against the backdrop of some of the city's most luxurious hotels.

    Ramadan Feels the Pinch 2009

  • And I want to quickly just show you, if you can see, there's, of course, a holy Muslim month of Ramadan right now and every day they break fast in a meal that is called iftar just as the sun sets.

    CNN Transcript Oct 15, 2005 2005

  • That signal was "iftar" -- the moment when Muslims observing the holy months of Ramadan break their daily fast.

    Reuters: Press Release 2011

  • The fast is broken each day with a celebratory meal called an iftar.

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • That signal was "iftar" -- the moment when Muslims observing the holy months of Ramadan break their daily fast.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • That signal was "iftar" -- the moment when Muslims observing the holy months of Ramadan break their daily fast.

    Reuters: Press Release 2011

  • The fast is broken each day with a celebratory meal called an iftar.

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • That signal was "iftar" -- the moment when Muslims observing the holy months of Ramadan break their daily fast.

    Reuters: Top News 2011

  • T. S Gopinanthan Nair, secretary of Nair Service Society, a Hindu outfit, termed the iftar as a good example of communal harmony.

    Medindia Health News 2009

  • At night, a meal and prayer known as iftar breaks the fast and it is resumed the following morning.

    Iowa State Daily 2008

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