durbar
Americannoun
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the court of an Indian ruler.
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a public audience or levee held by an Indian prince or by a British colonial governor or viceroy; an official reception.
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the hall or place where an Indian prince or British colonial governor holds a public audience.
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an audience held by an Indian prince or British colonial governor.
noun
Etymology
Origin of durbar
First recorded in 1600–10; alteration of Urdu darbār “court,” from Persian, equivalent to dar “door” + bār “entry”
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.
"Locals marvelled at this weekly durbar, where Ahmed, one ear pressed to his mobile phone and other taking in requests for constituency service, would mutter orders to his personal assistant or stenographer".
From BBC ● May 14, 2023
Experts worked on restoring the papier mache ceiling in the university's grand durbar hall.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2023
Instead of agreeing enthusiastically, as a maharajah in the 19th century would at Queen Victoria’s durbar, Modi wanted something in return.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 9, 2018
In the French television serial “Rani,” the opulence of Indian royalty and of the French 18th-century aristocracy are recreated with as much pomp as Chanel’s more exclusive durbar.
From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2011
After a conference of some length, inaudible to the attendants around, Abul Fazil came forward, and announced the will of the sultan, that the durbar should be presently broken up.
From Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad with Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected Vol. III (of 3) by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
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.
