askari
Americannoun
-
askaris,
plural
-
askari
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In Swahili, the red-billed oxpecker is known as askari wa kifaru, meaning "the rhino's guard".
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
But some time after their last meeting, in October 1986, Ntehelang went from ANC guerrilla to askari.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 6, 2015
The farm was an administrative headquarters and askari dormitory, equipped with a canteen, plenty of meat, a lovely view.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 6, 2015
Flat-footed askari scouts went padding in from their posts and the final advance on Addis Ababa started.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Swahili word askari used to mean “spear bearer.”
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
All the askaris were on their tea break at the time.
From Newsweek ● Sep. 5, 2013
Tanganyika's President Julius Nyerere took the most direct approach: he announced that both battalions of his Tanganyika Rifles would be disbanded and the aberrant askaris replaced by members of his party's militant Youth Wing.
From Time Magazine Archive
Under his command were some 21,000 Savoy Grenadiers, seven legions of askaris* and a reserve of some 70,000 semi-trained labor troops.
From Time Magazine Archive
The askaris kept double guard; but at dawn eleven of the porters were missing.
From Sacrifice by Stephen French Whitman
The sick man was unconscious when they sent him off, in the machilla, toward Fort Pero d'Anhaya, with three of the askaris and fifteen of the porters.
From Sacrifice by Stephen French Whitman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
