howadji
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Arabic خَوَاجَا (ḵawājā, “gentleman”), from Persian خواجه (xvâje, “gentleman”). The term came to be applied to merchants because they were formerly the chief travellers. Doublet of hodja.
Noun
[edit]howadji (plural howadjis)
- (archaic) A traveller or merchant from the Middle East
- 1854, Bayard Taylor, A Journey to Central Africa; or, Life and Landscapes...:
- "O fisherman, have you any fish?" And he held up a string of them and made answer: "O Howadji, I have."
References
[edit]- “howadji”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.