oasis
/oʊˈeɪsɪs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.56 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A spring of fresh water, surrounded by a fertile region of vegetation, in a desert.
noun
A place or situation of fruitfulness or abundance separated from surrounding barrenness or scarcity.
name
Acronym of Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards.
name
A census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States.
name
A census-designated place in Elko County, Nevada, United States.
Example Sentences
- "It was the Lost Oasis, the Oasis of the vision in the sand. […] Deep-hidden in the hollow, beneath the cliffs, it lay; and round it the happy verdure spread for many a rood. […] Yes, the quest was ended, the Lost Oasis was the Found!"
- "It was now a beautiful, moonlit night. The air was crisp and invigorating. Behind them lay the interminable vista of the desert, dotted here and there with an occasional oasis."
- "On the edge of the dunes lies the oasis town of Dunhuang, a key strategic crossroads on the Silk Road as the routes divided to the west to skirt the Taklamakan to the north and south."
- "The park was an oasis in the middle of the busy city."
- "[T]here is no true American music but the wild sweet melodies of the Negro slave; the American fairy tales and folklore are Indian and African; and, all in all, we black men seem the sole oasis of simple faith and reverence in a dusty desert of dollars and smartness."
- "I have tried to find friends like me […] but have failed to form even one prolonged relationship. Only a few of them could understand how I felt and a couple of them allowed me to express my love as intimately and vigorously as I wanted to. But for these two oases, I have lived all these years in an emotional void."
Etymology
From Late Latin Oasis, from Ancient Greek Ὄασις (Óasis), from Demotic Egyptian wḥj, from Egyptian wḥꜣt (“oasis, cauldron”), G43-V28-G1-X1:N25 Compare Sahidic Coptic ⲟⲩⲁϩⲉ (ouahe) and Arabic وَاحَة (wāḥa).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: wḥj, wḥꜣt
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /oʊˈeɪsɪs/
- British English: /əʊˈeɪsɪs/