wallah

or wal·la

[ wah-lah, -luh ]

nounIndian English.
  1. a person in charge of, employed at, or concerned with a particular thing (used in combination): a book wallah; a ticket wallah.

Origin of wallah

1
First recorded in 1770–80; from Hindi -wālā, an adjective suffix meaning “connected with, pertaining to,” also a noun suffix meaning “person in charge” (functionally equivalent to the English agent noun suffix -er1); from Prakrit, Sanskrit pāla- “protector,” a derivative of the root pā- “to protect”

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How to use wallah in a sentence

  • It is a diagnostic symptom, a symptom of what Graham Wallas calls "balked disposition."

  • Readers of the Fabian Essays know Mr. Wallas and appreciate the work of his group.

    A Preface to Politics | Walter Lippmann
  • That practical issues hang upon these investigations can be shown by an example from Mr. Wallas's book.

    A Preface to Politics | Walter Lippmann
  • Mr. Wallas takes exactly the same position as William James did when he planned a "moral equivalent" for war.

    A Preface to Politics | Walter Lippmann
  • Mr. Wallas's book and the special literature of the subject leave no doubt that a precise political psychology is far off indeed.

    A Preface to Politics | Walter Lippmann

British Dictionary definitions for wallah

wallah

walla

/ (ˈwɒlə) /


noun
  1. (usually in combination) informal a person involved with or in charge of (a specified thing): the book wallah

Origin of wallah

1
C18: from Hindi -wālā from Sanskrit pāla protector

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