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
"Tuan!" the lascar at last murmured softly, meaning to let the white man know that he could not see to steer.
From The End of the Tether by Conrad, Joseph
In a few minutes he left this in a skiff accompanied only by Fuzl Khan and a lascar.
From In Clive's Command A Story of the Fight for India by Strang, Herbert
According to custom, the lascar crew turned out gorgeous in crimson-and-gold scarfs, spotless white robes, and embroidered turbans, very different from their dingy working garb.
From The Crooked Stick or Pollies's Probation by Boldrewood, Rolf
A man who looked like a lascar stood upright in the stern.
From The Hand Of Fu-Manchu Being a New Phase in the Activities of Fu-Manchu, the Devil Doctor by Rohmer, Sax
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.
