lascar
Americannoun
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an East Indian sailor.
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Indian English. an artilleryman.
noun
Etymology
Origin of lascar
First recorded in 1620–30; from Portuguese, short for lasquarin “soldier,” from Urdu lashkarī, from Persian, equivalent to lashkar “army” + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; lasquarin shows spontaneous nasalization that occurs in Portuguese, as also in sim “yes,” from Latin sīc ( Spanish sí, Italian sì, French si )
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.
While writing Sea of Poppies, he scoured old dictionaries and almanacs and filled the novel with dizzying dialogues incorporating bastardized Hindustani and lascar words that he claims entered common English parlance in the 19th century.
From Time Magazine Archive
The lead confirmed his words; the depth of water increased at every cast, and the soul of excitement departed suddenly from the lascar swung in the canvas belt over the Sofala's side.
From The End of the Tether by Conrad, Joseph
At last the lascar rose and floundered through the mud toward the village, but he was careful to leave an ally to watch the boats.
From Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II by Kipling, Rudyard
But how about this lascar of a captain that lets us put to sea unprovided?
From Where the Pavement Ends by Russell, John
"Due east, mutli," ordered Mostyn, having signed to the lascar to come aft.
From The Wireless Officer by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
