fellah
[fel-uh]
- 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 fellahin
Historical Examples
The lot of the Egyptian fellahin or peasants has never been an enviable one.
Mystics and Saints of IslamClaud Field
The black soldier was of a very different type from the fellahin.
The River WarWinston S. Churchill
The measure by which the Fellahin divide their land is the feddn.
The English Village CommunityFrederic Seebohm
The fellahin at that time were in terrible straits of poverty.
Secret History of the English Occupation of EgyptWilfrid Scawen Blunt
The regeneration of the fellahin army dates from that epidemic.
fellah
- 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
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Word Origin and History for fellahin
n.
1743, plural of Arabic fallah (see fellah).
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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