pehelwan

English

Etymology

From Hindi पहलवान (pahalvān).

Noun

pehelwan (plural pehelwans)

1. (India) A wrestler.
   • 2001, Ashok Singh, The Snake God, page 258:

     Take these two pehelwans and take sticks and kill all the snakes in this compound. I don't want to see any of these creatures alive on my lands.

   • 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 294:

     The Dom Raja's home even had its very own wrestling pit, where only decades ago, pehelwans threw each other to the ground and played for glory.

Alternative forms

• pahlwan, pehlwan