Muharram

Proper noun

Muharram (plural Muharrams)

1. The first month of the Islamic calendar, when many Islamic communities hold a festival commemorating the deaths of the grandsons of Muhammad.
   • These, hearing nothing of the Collector-Sahib for some time, and heartily despising the Hindu Sub-Judge, arranged to start a little Mohurrum riot of their own.1888, Rudyard Kipling, “His Chance in Life”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio, published 2005, page 56
   • ‘I don't much believe in this discussing – besides, I'm so dead with all the extra work Mohurram's bringing, if you'll excuse me.’1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 77

   Synonyms:

   Muharram al-Haram

2. A Shiite festival held during its first ten days; Ashura.
   • It is now clear that the term Hobson-Jobson was originally a deprecating Anglo-Indian slang term for the Muharram used particularly in the army and merchant navy but also more widely.2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look At `Hobson-Jobson'”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27, number 1, page 67