askari

[ as-kuh-ree ]

/ ˈæs kə ri /

Save This Word!

noun, plural as·ka·ris, as·ka·ri.

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

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of askari

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

Words nearby askari

ask, ask after, askance, Ask, and it shall be given you, askarel, askari, ask a stupid question and you'll get a stupid answer, askew, Askey, ask for, ask for the moon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use askari in a sentence

It has been six months since unknown insurgents destroyed the Al-Askari mosque in Samarra.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Graceful as a deer was Nazoro, and a good Askari lost in a better operating-room boy.
Sketches of the East Africa Campaign|Robert Valentine Dolbey
Loads were piled neatly, covered with a tarpaulin, and the pile guarded by an askari.
The Leopard Woman|Stewart Edward White
He thought of going out to join the askari, or native guard, who was keeping watch some thirty feet away.
The Forest of Mystery|James H. Foster

It seemed absolutely endless, and once or twice I feared that two of the Askari would have died of the wet, cold, and exposure.
Allan Quatermain|H. Rider Haggard
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

(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