dragoman

[drag-uh-muh n]

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noun, plural drag·o·mans, drag·o·men.

(in the Near East) a professional interpreter.

Origin of dragoman

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

Related formsdrag·o·man·ic

[drag-uh-man-ik] /ˌdræg əˈmæn ɪk/, drag·o·man·ish, adjective

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

Related Words for dragoman

linguist, adapter, polyglot, cryptologist, decoder, dragoman, cryptographer, explainer, glossator

Examples from the Web for dragoman

Historical Examples of dragoman

The only objection is, he's not as good-looking as Monny and I wanted our dragoman to be.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Then the lady say very quick she will take me for her dragoman.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
There had been some dispute about payment, and the Britisher had slapped the dragoman's face.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Afterward I learned that he was our dragoman's father; but I was loyal and did not tell.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Three men had come to-day, one who might be a dragoman, and two Europeans.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for dragoman

dragoman

noun plural -mans or -men

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

Word Origin for dragoman

C14: from French, from Italian dragomano, from Medieval Greek dragoumanos, from Arabic targumān an interpreter, from Aramaic tūrgemānā, of Akkadian origin

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

Word Origin and History for dragoman

early 14c., from Old French drugemen, from late Greek dragoumanos, from Arabic targuman "interpreter," from targama "interpret." Treated in English as a compound, with plural -men.