Nawab
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A Muslim official in South Asia acting as a provincial deputy ruler under the Mughal empire; a local governor. historical
"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.’"
- 2 a governor in India during the Mogul empire wordnet
- 3 Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polyura (possibly a subgenus of genus Charaxes).
Example
More examples"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.’"
Etymology
From Hindi नवाब (navāb)/Urdu نواب (navāb), from Persian نوّاب (navvâb), ultimately from Arabic نُوَّاب (nuwwāb), plural of نَائِب (nāʔib, “naib”).
Related phrases
More for "nawab"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.