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hamal

American  
[huh-mahl, -mawl] / həˈmɑl, -ˈmɔl /
Or hammal

noun

  1. (in some Muslim countries) a porter.


hamal British  
/ həˈmɑːl /

noun

  1. (in Middle Eastern countries) a porter, bearer, or servant

"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

Etymology

Origin of hamal

1960–65; < Arabic hammāl porter, carrier, akin to hamala to carry

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.

See Examples For:

He has laid a veneer of American-style street smarts on the skills of the hamal, or dock walloper, who learned survival on the wharves of Turkish Constantinople.

From Time Magazine Archive

Scarcely had we returned, indeed, before another patient hamal knocked, lugging the hapless bird.

From Antwerp to Gallipoli A Year of the War on Many Fronts—and Behind Them by Arthur Ruhl

Now it was my painful duty to go every morning up to his office-room and see that peon had put fresh ink and everything ready and that the hamal had dusted properly.

From Driftwood Spars The Stories of a Man, a Boy, a Woman, and Certain Other People Who Strangely Met Upon the Sea of Life by Percival Christopher Wren

In a minute the hamal entered and flung a pail of water on the burning pool of oil, reducing the mass of blue lambent flames considerably.

From Snake and Sword A Novel by Percival Christopher Wren

"When I was in my father's house, I was in a better place." hey were putting Punch to bed—the ayah and the hamal, and Meeta, the big Surti boy with the red and gold turban.

From Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II by Rudyard Kipling

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