zaatar

UK/ˈzɑːtɑː//ˈzɑtɑɹ/

zaatar noun: a particular herb, similar in flavor to thyme or oregano, used in Middle Eastern cuisine (Origanum syriacum).

Image: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

zaatar (uncountable)

A particular herb, similar in flavor to thyme or oregano, used in Middle Eastern cuisine (Origanum syriacum).
A Middle Eastern seasoning, having this herb or a mixture of herbs as the main ingredient, with sumac (or other tart-flavored equivalent) and sesame seeds.

zaatar meaning in Arabic

zaatar in Arabic

herb: زَعْتَر نَابُلْسِيّ zaʕtar nābulsiyy
seasoning: خُلْطَة زَعْتَر نَابُلْسِيّ ḵulṭat zaʕtar nābulsiyy, زَعْتَر نَابُلْسِيّ zaʕtar nābulsiyy

Forms of zaatar

alternative form	za'tar
alternative form (nonstandard)	za'atar
alternative form (nonstandard)	zatar

Origin of zaatar

From Arabic زَعْتَر (zaʕtar), صَعْتَر (ṣaʕtar, “wild thyme; condiment made from this herb”), probably from Classical Syriac ܨܬܪܐ (ṣāṯrā), related to Hebrew צַתְרָה (ṣátrā).

Words formed from zaatar

zaatar bread

Phrases with zaatar

zaatar breads

Questions about zaatar

What does zaatar mean?: Zaatar means a particular herb, similar in flavor to thyme or oregano, used in Middle Eastern cuisine (Origanum syriacum).
What is zaatar in Arabic?: Zaatar in Arabic is زَعْتَر نَابُلْسِيّ (zaʕtar nābulsiyy), خُلْطَة زَعْتَر نَابُلْسِيّ (ḵulṭat zaʕtar nābulsiyy). See Zaatar meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is zaatar?: Zaatar is a noun.
How do you pronounce zaatar?: Zaatar is pronounced /ˈzɑːtɑː/ (UK).

Words near zaatar in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: zaatar (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-zaatar.ogg.

Cite this entry: “zaatar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/zaatar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.