askari

[ as-kuh-ree ]

noun,plural as·ka·ris, as·ka·ri.
  1. an African police officer or soldier, especially one serving a colonial administration.

Origin of askari

1
First recorded in 1805–10; from Swahili, from Arabic ʿaskarī “soldier,” equivalent to ʿaskar “army” (from Persian lashkar) + a suffix indicating relationship or origin); see origin at lascar

Words Nearby askari

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use askari in a sentence

  • Fortunately there were at Lamu at this time a party of Wakwafi askari (soldiers).

    Allan Quatermain | H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for askari

askari

/ (asˈkaːri) /


noun
  1. (in East Africa) a soldier or policeman

Origin of askari

1
C19: from Arabic: soldier

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012