Dictionary

tamada en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtɑːmədɑː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈtɑmədɑ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtɑmədə/ (General-American)
• /ˈtɑːmədə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Georgian თამადა (tamada), from (Proto-?)Circassian *tħamada (compare West Circassian тхьаматэ (tḥamatɛ, “foreman of a village; boss; master; chairman; (dated) husband”), East Circassian тхьэмадэ (tḥɛmadɛ, “foreman of a village; boss; master; chairman; (dialectal) bridegroom, wooer”)), possibly from Persian داماد (dâmâd, “bridegroom; son-in-law; father-in-law; sovereign's brother-in-law; lover, wooer”) with the ending reshaped under the influence of East Circassian адэ (adɛ, “father”). The suggestion that the word is derived from a blend of თავი (tavi, “head”) + მაგიდა (magida, “table”) (in the sense of a person at the head of a table) is a folk etymology.

Meanings

1. (Georgia) A toastmaster at a feast in the Caucasus, especially in Georgia.
   • A good tamada has a number of special qualities. First of all, a good tamada is one who is good with words, who speaks clearly and cleverly, who can say in a^([sic]) original way things which are heard over and over again at every supra. The best tamadas are extemporaneous poets. 1989, Dee Ann Holisky, The Annual of the Society for the Study of Caucasia, Chicago, Ill.: The Society for the Study of Caucasia, →OCLC, page 26:
   • This tamada had excellent rhetorical skills; he was fluent in both Russian and Kyrgyz and knew the languages of humor and honor. 2017, Aksana Ismailbekova, “Rahim’s Victory Feast: Political Patronage and Kinship in Solidarity”, in Blood Ties and the Native Son: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan, Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 168:
   • We have the custom of a toastmaker – the tamada, we call him. For the sake of order, he proposes all the toasts. Will you support me as tamada? 1977, Bart McDowell, Journey across Russia: The Soviet Union Today, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISBN, page 223:
   • Although Georgians don't commonly determine any vocabulary which signifies specific states of intoxication, these states are mentioned indirectly by tamadas when they explain the difficult task of keeping drinkers' moods and inebriation at the table at an even keel. 1997, Mary Ellen Chatwin, Socio-cultural Transformation and Foodways in the Republic of Georgia, Commack, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, →ISBN, page 176:
   • A tamada, or toastmaster—an obligatory feature of any Georgian feast—Cholokashvili was proposing the ultimate toast, to the mystery and romance of the vine. [...] Unfortunately it is also traditional that all tamadas have to be obeyed, as I learned from Zezva Gochilaidze in Tusheti. 1992, National Geographic Magazine, volume 181, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 110:
   • The tamada—the master of ceremonies—with practised skill opened a bottle and poured out half a glassful for himself with the explanation, "The tamada must drink first. If there's poison in this glass you'll soon know of it and save yourself." 1982, Soviet Literature: A Monthly Journal of the Union of Writers of the U.S.S.R., Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 24:

Forms

Translations (20)

tr tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · az tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · ru тамада́ ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · hy սեղանապետ ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · et tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · hy թամադա ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · de Tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · pl tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · es tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · be тамада́ ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · cv кӗрекеҫӗ ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · krc тамата ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · ce тхьамда ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · az süfrəbəyi ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · ka თამადა ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · az masabəyi ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · ka ტოლუმბაში ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · fi tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · uk тамада́ ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster) · uz tamada ((chiefly Georgia) toastmaster)

wikipedia: Niko Pirosmani · wikipedia: State Museum of Oriental Art