# كمر
## Arabic
### Alternative forms

* كَمَرَان (kamarān)

### Etymology

From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (kml /⁠kamar⁠/, “waist; belt”), from Proto-Indo-European *kam- (“to bend”). In Aramaic קַמְרָא, ܩܰܡܪܳܐ (qamrā), in Classical Persian کمر (kamar).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ka.mar/

### Noun

كَمَر • (kamar) m (plural أَكْمَار (ʔakmār))
* belt, girdle

#### Usage notes

In the time of ʿUmar a زُنَّار (zunnār) would mean a belt worn by Christians, Jews, Sabians, Magians and other non-Muslims; for it had become fashionable in the Byzantine Empire under Diocletian and Constantine to wear a ζώνη (zṓnē) or cingulum which was first a symbol of servitude in public office and then in religious office. For Zoroastrians parallelly the conviction developed to wear a كُسْتِيج (kustīj, “belt”), whereas Babylonian Jews wore a هِمْيَان (himyān) הֶמְיָנָא (hemyānā, “belt”). Public officials in the Iranian empire wore a كَمَر (kamar, “belt”) without which no Iranian of distinction would go out, termed in Arabic مِنْطَقَة (minṭaqa, “belt”). With the new Muslim rulers the former girdles were imposed and the كَمَر (kamar) or مِنْطَقَة (minṭaqa) prohibited for non-Muslims. An Arabic term for “girdle” neutral from the beginning is حِزَام (ḥizām).

#### Declension
### References

* “كمر” in Almaany
* Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1881) “كمر”, in Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes‎ (in French), volume 2, Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 488
* Levy-Rubin, Mika (2011) Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire. From Surrender to Coexistence, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 154–157
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “كمر”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎, Vienna, column 1881
* Wehr, Hans with Kropfitsch, Lorenz (1985) “كمر”, in Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart‎ (in German), 5th edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, published 2011, →ISBN, page 1119

## Ottoman Turkish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Persian کمر (kamar, “belt, girdle”), from Middle Persian 𐫞𐫖𐫡 (qmr /⁠kamar⁠/, “vault”), ultimately from Proto-Iranian *kamarā- (“something curved”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kɛˈmɛɾ/

### Noun

كمر • (kemer)
* any girdle or belt, especially a belt of cloth with a buckle or clasps
    Synonyms: قوشاق (kuşak), منطقه (mantaka), نطاق (nitak)
* arch, vault, an architectural element having the shape of a bow
    Synonym: طاق (tak)
* (geography) mountain pass, a low point in a mountain range
    Synonym: ارغید (arğid)

#### Derived terms

* آشجی كمری (aşcı kemeri, “cook's girdle”)
* آلتون كمری (altın kemeri, “girdle for carrying gold”)
* صو كمری (su kemeri, “arches of an aqueduct”)
* كمر آغاجی (kemer ağacı, “strut”)
* كمر بسته (kemer-beste, “attached”)
* كمر بند (kemer-bend, “girdle”)
* كمر ساز (kemer-saz, “beltmaker”)
* كمرجك (kemercik, “a little girdle”)
* كمرجی (kemerci, “beltmaker”)
* كمرلك (kemerlik, “leather belt used to hold tools”)
* كمرلو (kemerli, “arched, vaulted”)
* كوپری كمری (köprü kemeri, “arch of a bridge”)

#### Descendants

* Turkish: kemer
* → Albanian: qemer
* → Armenian: քէմէր (kʻēmēr), ք$^յ$ա̈մա̈ր (kʻ$^y$ämär)
* → Bulgarian: кеме́р (kemér)
* → Greek: κεμέρι (keméri)
* → Romanian: chimír, chimér

### Proper noun

كمر • (kemer)
* Kemer (a town and district in Antalya province, Turkey)
    Synonym: قاردیچ (kardiç) (historical)
* Kemer (a town and district in Burdur province, Turkey)
    Synonym: سرتاچ (sertaç) (historical)

#### Descendants

* Turkish: Kemer

### Further reading

* Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “kemer1”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 2539
* Hindoglu, Artin (1838) “كمر”, in Hazine-i lûgat ou dictionnaire abrégé turc-français‎, Vienna: F. Beck, page 395b
* Kélékian, Diran (1911) “كمر”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎, Constantinople: Mihran, page 1038
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Zona”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎, Vienna, column 1804
* Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “كمر”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎, Vienna, column 4017
* Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “kemer”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
* Nişanyan, Sevan (2010–) “Kemer”, in Nişanyan Yeradları: Türkiye ve Çevre Ülkeler Yerleşim Birimleri Envanteri [Index Anatolicus: An inventory of place names of Turkey and surrounding countries] (in Turkish)
* Redhouse, James W. (1890) “كمر”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1571
* Sezen, Tahir (2017) “Kemer”, in Osmanlı Yer Adları [Ottoman Place Names]‎, 2nd edition, Ankara: T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü, page 448