Nair

American  

[nahyer, nahy-er] / naɪər, ˈnaɪ ər /

Also Nayer

noun

Nair, plural Nairs plural

1. a group of Hindu castes in the Kerala region of India.

2. a member of any one of these castes.

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adjective

1. of or relating to this group of castes or their members.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Nair
  plural
• Nairs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Nair

1580–85; < Portuguese naire < Malayalam nāyar members of ruling caste < Sanskrit nāya to lead

Example Sentences

Analyst Vignesh Nair switches preference to Meridian Energy, noting its earnings growth leads the sector.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

An Indian national, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, who worked for both companies as technical superintendent for the ship, the M/V Dali, is also named in the indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

It was a direct nod to Mamdani himself, whose mother, Mira Nair, is a Punjabi Hindu woman from India.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

And he didn’t exactly come from nowhere; he’s the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and is open about having been raised in privilege.

From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026

What if I could be her Ava DuVernay or her Mira Nair?

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon