Begum
name, noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 a high-ranking Muslim woman, especially in South Asia
"He went to India with his capital, and there, according to a wild legend in our family, he was once seen riding on an elephant, in company with a Baboon; but I think it must have been a Baboo—or a Begum."
- 2 An honorific title from Central and South Asia, often used by leading women in society.
- 3 a Muslim woman of high rank in India or Pakistan wordnet
- 4 the form of address for such a woman
"It was a known fact that an envoy from an Indian Prince, a Colonel Altamont, the Nawaub of Lucknow’s prime favourite, an extraordinary man, who had, it was said, embraced Mahometanism, and undergone a thousand wild and perilous adventures was at present in this country, trying to negotiate with the Begum Clavering, the sale of the Nawaub’s celebrated nose-ring diamond, ‘the light of the Dewan.’"
- 1 To daub or cover with gum. transitive
- 1 A surname of Bengali usage
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"He went to India with his capital, and there, according to a wild legend in our family, he was once seen riding on an elephant, in company with a Baboon; but I think it must have been a Baboo—or a Begum."
Etymology
From be- + gum.
From Classical Persian بیگم (bēgum), from East Turkic begüm, from beg (a title of nobility in Iran, Central Asia and South Asia) + -um (feminine suffix for titles of nobility). Compare Classical Persian خانم (xānum).
Ultimately from Classical Persian بیگم (bēgum).