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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/.

a native peasant or laborer in Egypt, Syria, etc.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for fellah

Historical Examples of fellah

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

  • 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)

a peasant in Arab countries

Word Origin for fellah

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."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper