Definition of DUNAM

dunam

Meanings

Plural: dunams

Noun

  • An Ottoman Turkish unit of surface area nominally equal to 1,600 square (Turkish) paces but actually varied at a provincial and local level according to land quality to accommodate its colloquial sense of the amount of land able to be plowed in a day, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine stremma or English acre.
  • A modern Turkish unit of surface area equal to a decare (1000 m²), equivalent to the modern Greek stremma.
  • Various other units in other areas of the former Ottoman Empire, usually equated to the decare but sometimes varying (as in Iraq, where it is 2500 m²).

Origin / Etymology

From Hebrew דּוּנָם (dunam) or Arabic دُونُم (dūnum), from Turkish dönüm, from dönmek (“to turn”). A probable calque of Byzantine Greek στρέμμα (strémma, “stremma”, literally “that which is turned”).

Synonyms

old stremma, Ottoman stremma, stremma, Turkish stremma

Scrabble Score: 8

dunam is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
dunam is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dunam is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

dunam is a valid Words With Friends word