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fellah

[fel-uh]
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noun, plural fel·lahs, Arabic fel·la·hin, fel·la·heen [fel-uh-heen] /ˌfɛl əˈhin/.
  1. a native peasant or laborer in Egypt, Syria, etc.
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Origin of fellah

First recorded in 1735–45, fellah is from the Arabic word fallāḥ peasant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fellah

Historical Examples

  • The Pharaoh, not the fellah, dictated the inscription that was to be engraved.

    Is civilization a disease?

    Stanton Coit

  • This fellah's in the Western Union; an operator with the pool-room lines.

    Garrison's Finish

    W. B. M. Ferguson

  • That they will not ask of the Arabs, for no Arab would work like a fellah.

    At Aboukir and Acre

    George Alfred Henty

  • Then where is this hopped-up layout anyway, fellah, if it ain't on Earth?

    Zehru of Xollar

    Hal K. Wells

  • Did we know the story—story about a fellah—fellah who had an aunt, you know?

    Nights in London

    Thomas Burke

British Dictionary definitions for fellah

fellah

noun plural fellahs, fellahin or fellaheen (ˌfɛləˈhiːn)
  1. a peasant in Arab countries
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Word Origin

C18: from Arabic, dialect variant of fallāh, from falaha to cultivate
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 fellah

n.

"Egyptian peasant," 1743, from Arabic fallah "plowman," from falaha "to till the soil."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper