Home › Glossary › Letter A

Attar

Perfumery
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A fragrant oil traditionally made by distilling botanicals into a carrier oil.

Detailed Definition
Attar is a concentrated botanical perfume, often associated with rose, jasmine, sandalwood, or spice. In poetry, it can suggest intimacy carried in a small vessel: a drop opened on the wrist, a market vial uncorked at dusk, or an inheritance kept in silk. Its oiliness gives the image duration, allowing memory to cling to skin, fabric, and the invisible air around a beloved figure.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet might compare a lover’s lingering presence to attar, a concentrated rose perfume kept in a tiny glass vial; In a dawn poem, attar of jasmine can symbolize devotion distilled from many nights; The phrase “attar of roses” gives a line both floral richness and an association with traditional South Asian and Middle Eastern perfumery; A poet can use attar to suggest fragrance that is precious, intimate, and long-lasting.
Additional Notes
Attar is traditionally produced by hydro-distilling flowers, herbs, or spices over a base such as sandalwood oil. It is often rich, smooth, and long-lasting; rose and oud attars are well-known examples. Modern usage may also include nontraditional fragrance oils.
Also Known As
Ittar Attar of Nishapur
Skip to main content