Naik
//ˈnɑː.ɪk// name, noun
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A lord or governor in South Asia.
- 2 A non-commissioned officer equivalent to corporal in a corps of Indian, Pakistani or Nepalese soldiers. India, Nepal, Pakistan
"1888: Also, he had to keep his temper … especially once when he was abused by a Naik he had himself recruited from Isser Jang village — Rudyard Kipling, ‘Miss Youghal's Sais’, Plain Tales from the Hills (Folio Society 2007, p. 26)"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Hindi.
Example
More examples"1888: Also, he had to keep his temper … especially once when he was abused by a Naik he had himself recruited from Isser Jang village — Rudyard Kipling, ‘Miss Youghal's Sais’, Plain Tales from the Hills (Folio Society 2007, p. 26)"
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Sanskrit नायक (nāyaka, “leader, governor”).
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Hindi नाईक (nāīk). This surname is mostly found in Odisha.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.