marfa

M3A1R1F4A1
/ˈmɑɹfə//ˈmʌɹfə/

noun

A percussion instrument thought to have originated in Africa

OriginUrdu مرفع ← Yemeni Arabic مرفع →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

marfa1

nounmarfa (plural marfas)

plural marfas

  1. A percussion instrument thought to have originated in Africa
  2. A form of Hyderabadi music inspired by Afro-Arab music that typically uses such instruments

Marfa2

proper noun
  1. A transliteration of the Russian or Ukrainian female given name Марфа (Marfa).
  2. A city, the county seat of Presidio County, in far West Texas.

Origin

marfa · noun

  1. Yemeni Arabicمرفع“kettledrum”
  2. Urduمرفع
  3. Englishmarfa

Borrowed from Urdu مرفع (marfa’), ultimately from Yemeni Arabic مرفع (marfa’, “kettledrum”).

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Marfa · proper noun

  1. ru,ukМа́рфа
  2. EnglishMarfa

Transliteration of Russian and Ukrainian Ма́рфа (Márfa). Doublet of Martha. The town is named after a character in Jules Verne's novel Michael Strogoff.

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

FramaMafra
Cite this entry
APA

marfa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marfa

MLA

“marfa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marfa. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “marfa,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marfa.

Source: marfa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.