Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

dragoman

American  
[drag-uh-muhn] / ˈdræg ə mən /

noun

plural

dragomans, dragomen
  1. (in the Middle East) a professional interpreter.


dragoman British  
/ ˈdræɡəʊmən /

noun

  1. (in some Middle Eastern countries, esp formerly) a professional interpreter or guide

"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

Other Word Forms

  • dragomanic adjective
  • dragomanish adjective

Etymology

Origin of dragoman

First recorded in 1300–50; from French; replacing Middle English drogman “interpreter,” from Middle French drog ( o ) man, dragoman, from Medieval Greek drago ( u ) mános, from Semitic; compare Arabic tarjumān, Akkadian targumannu

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.

Soon, Buchwald set himself up as the laughing dragoman to American celebrities.

From Time Magazine Archive

Some men did manage to get into the boats, notably Henry Sleeper Harper, of the publishing family, who took along an Egyptian dragoman and his Pekingese named Sun Yatsen.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then he said to his dragoman, "Ask him what he wants of me."

From A Literary History of the Arabs by Nicholson, Reynold

"Where is your dragoman?" they said; "why do you not send for him?"

From By Desert Ways to Baghdad by Jebb, Louisa

Dr. Lockhart, the missionary, acted voluntarily as my dragoman and guide in Shanghai, and showed me things in the city that I could never have discovered for myself.

From My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands Dictated in My Seventy-Fourth Year by Train, George Francis