fellah

[ fel-uh ]

/ ˈfɛl ə /

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.

Nearby words

felixstowe, fell, fell pony, fella, fellable, fellah, fellahin, fellate, fellatio, fellation, feller

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 fellahin

The lot of the Egyptian fellahin or peasants has never been an enviable one.
Mystics and Saints of Islam|Claud Field
But the peasants, the fellahin, have every virtue which should make a happy, well-to-do-society.
Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt|Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
The divisions on the left at once rushed at its earthworks, silenced its feeble artillery, and slaughtered the fellahin inside.
The Life of Napoleon I (Volumes, 1 and 2)|John Holland Rose
Sabaini is a favourite food of the fellahin, while Sultani rice is largely exported.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1|Various

The idea was to get up among the Circassian officers of the army a reactionary movement against the fellahin.
Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt|Wilfrid Scawen Blunt

British Dictionary definitions for fellahin

fellah

/ (ˈfɛlə) /

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 fellahin (1 of 2)

fellahin

1743, plural of Arabic fallah (see fellah).

Word Origin and History for fellahin (1 of 2)

fellah

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