askari

[ as-kuh-ree ]

/ ˈæs kə ri /

noun, plural as·ka·ris, as·ka·ri.

a native African police officer or soldier, especially one serving a colonial administration.

Words nearby askari

ask out, ask, and it shall be given you, ask-upmark kidney, askance, askarel, askari, askesis, askew, askey, asking bid, asking price

Origin of askari

1885–90; < Swahili < Arabic ʿaskarī soldier, equivalent to ʿaskar army (< Persian lashkar; cf. lascar) + -ī suffix of appurtenance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for askari

Therefore Sir Henry and the Askari proceeded to arm themselves in like fashion.
Allan Quatermain|H. Rider Haggard
The first man addressed a chaffing remark to the Askari with Jack, and then asked where the rest of the party were.
Samba|Herbert Strang
The Askari looked on stolidly as he gathered stones from below the bank and heaped them to form a low rude cairn.
Samba|Herbert Strang
He remembered that the Askari had spoken of an old camping-place a little below the spot on which they stood.
Samba|Herbert Strang

"Watcha kalele, Saa-sita," I told the askari; at once he lifted up his voice to repeat my words.
The Land of Footprints|Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for askari

askari

/ (asˈkaːri) /

noun

(in East Africa) a soldier or policeman

Word Origin for askari

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