havildar

British

/ ˈhævɪlˌdɑː /

noun

a noncommissioned officer in the Indian army, equivalent in rank to sergeant

"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 havildar

C17: from Hindi, from Persian hawāldār one in charge

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.

Havildar, hav′il-dar, n. the highest rank of non-commissioned officer among native troops in India and Ceylon.

From Project Gutenberg

A havildar of the 4th said, “Sahib, is not our march one of the greatest on record?”

From Project Gutenberg

Meanwhile the sentry on the quarter guard not fifty yards away, hearing the shot and the consequent uproar, awoke the havildar in charge of the guard.

From Project Gutenberg

The cries from the barrack-room had ceased; for the poor havildar was dead, and his body had been removed to the hospital.

From Project Gutenberg

For on their way from Hathipota they had met one of our search-parties under a havildar, called Ranjit Singh, who told them of the crime and said that he had been informed by villagers at Jainti that a man carrying a rifle had been seen coming out of the jungle early that morning and going east.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023