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kalian

[kahl-yahn]
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noun
  1. a Persian tobacco pipe in which the smoke is drawn through water; hookah.
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Origin of kalian

First recorded in 1825–35, kalian is from the Persian word qalyān
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kalian

Historical Examples

  • He then began to make apologies for not having a kalian (a pipe) to offer me, 'for,' said he, 'I am not a smoker of tobacco.

    The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan

    James Morier

  • Sometimes the conversation was kept up for several hours, until tea and the kalian had been passed around.

  • Another pipe-bearer lighted the kalian at intervals and handed it into the carriage to his master.

  • There is also a large quantity of tobacco grown in Persia, which is used for the “kalian” (or water-pipe) and cigarette smoking.

British Dictionary definitions for kalian

kalian

noun
  1. another name for hookah
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Word Origin

C19: from Persian, from Arabic qalyān
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