niqab

noun

ni·​qab ni-ˈkäb How to pronounce niqab (audio)
variants or less commonly niqaab
: a veil for covering the hair and face except for the eyes that is worn by some Muslim women

Examples of niqab in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Anyone who’s interested can see some of her past projects on her own web site, for example, a set of niqabs meant to alter the dynamics of gaze, all with considerable technological ballast. John Werner, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025 Many devout Muslim women cover their faces with a niqab or burqa. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2025 Women gather together, all fully covered in the Islamic niqab, as hundreds of young children from strikingly diverse ethnic backgrounds wander through the squalor. Richard Engel, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2025 At the entrance to the main Kabul branch, a sign tells women to correctly wear niqab, a specific type of Islamic headscarf. Riazat Butt, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for niqab

Word History

Etymology

Arabic niqāb

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of niqab was in 1936

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Cite this Entry

“Niqab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niqab. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

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