subadar

See also: Subadar

English

Alternative forms

• soubadar, soubedar, subahdar, subedar, subidar

Etymology

From Hindi सूबेदार (sūbedār) / Urdu صوبدار (sūbadār), and its source, (Indian) Persian صوبه‌دار (sūbadār), corresponding to صوبه (sūba, “province”) +‎ ـدار (-dār, “in ownership of, in charge of”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sʌbəˈdɑː/

Noun

subadar (plural subadars)

1. (South Asia, historical) The governor or commander in charge of a subah; a viceroy. [from 17th c.]
   • 1806, [Thomas Maurice], Indian Antiquities: Or, Dissertations Relative to the Antient Geographical Divisions, […] of Hindostan: […] , volume I. Containing the Dissertation on the Antient Geographical Divisions of Hindostan, London: Printed […] by C. & W. Galabin […] and sold by John White […] , pages 231–232:

     Hindostan was then parcelled out into twelve grand divisions, called soobahs, to each of which a viceroy was assigned, by the title of Soobahdar, corruptly written Soobah by European writers; for, soobah signifies province: many of these soobahs were in extent equal to large European kingdoms.

2. (historical) An Indian officer in the British Indian Army, of a rank equivalent to captain. [from 18th c.]
   • 2008, Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies, Penguin, published 2015, page 31:

     Also in his favour were his family's connections, the most notable of which consisted of an uncle who had risen to the rank of subedar in the East India Company's army […]

3. (India, Pakistan, Nepal) A noncommissioned officer rank in the armies of India and Pakistan.

Derived terms

• subadar-major

See also

• subadar on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• “subadar”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “subedar”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “subadar” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.
• “subadar”, in Collins English Dictionary.

Anagrams

• absurda