fellah

[ fel-uh ]

noun,plural fel·lahs, Arabic fel·la·hin, fel·la·heen [fel-uh-heen]. /ˌfɛl əˈhin/.
  1. a peasant or laborer in Arabic-speaking countries, especially Egypt.

Origin of fellah

1
First recorded in 1735–45; from Arabic fallāḥ, fellāḥ “peasant”

Words Nearby fellah

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

How to use fellah in a sentence

  • I have described one of the poorest of the "fellah" villages, but the traveller is often more luxuriously housed.

    Peeps at Many Lands: Egypt | R. Talbot Kelly
  • Say, young fellah, don't tell me you've been writin' up your impressions in that paper on your knee.

    The Poison Belt | Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Now she heard again the far-away voice of the fellah by the shadûf, warning her surely to go.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens
  • But when the fellah cried out once more in the distance, it seemed to her that she heard a savage triumph in his voice.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens
  • But even then the inexorable hands had closed upon her, and the final cry of the fellah had thrilled with a savage triumph.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for fellah

fellah

/ (ˈfɛlə) /


nounplural fellahs, fellahin or fellaheen (ˌfɛləˈhiːn)
  1. a peasant in Arab countries

Origin of fellah

1
C18: from Arabic, dialect variant of fallāh, from falaha to cultivate

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