pasha

[pah-shuh, pash-uh, puh-shah, -shaw]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pasha ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a title, placed after the name, formerly held by high officials in countries under Turkish rule.

Also pacha.

Origin of pasha

1640–50; < Turkish paşa; see bashaw

Related formspa·sha·dom, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pasha

king, monarch, emperor, czar, sultan, shah, majesty, queen, empress, mogul, kaiser, prince, baron, royal, sovereign, potentate, lord, dame, tycoon, baroness

Examples from the Web for pasha

Contemporary Examples of pasha

Another trial has put the ISI's director-general, Brigadier General Pasha, at the center of the plot.
America’s Menacing Pakistan Problem
Bruce Riedel
May 21, 2011
Pasha said he offered his resignation twice to the head of the army, but it apparently has not been accepted.
Osama bin Laden Wives Interrogated
The Daily Beast
May 12, 2011
The senior Pakistani sources say that Pasha was never keen on the ISI job in the first place.
Pakistan’s bin Laden Scapegoat
Ron Moreau
May 6, 2011
“It would help Pasha as an individual because in Pakistan, no one resigns to accept blame for anything,” says Masood.
Pakistan’s bin Laden Scapegoat
Ron Moreau
May 6, 2011
Pasha reportedly made no specific demands on the withdrawal of U.S. personnel.
Pakistan-U.S. Relations Frayed But Not Collapsing
Ron Moreau
April 14, 2011

Historical Examples of pasha

But the appearance of the Pasha is not without its attendant state.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845
Various
This is attributed to the reluctance to be soldiers for the glory of the Pasha.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845
Various
In the citadel is also a mosque, now building by the order of the Pasha.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845
Various
The horse was killed; the man is now a bey in the Pasha's service.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845
Various
The Pasha, however, has not gone out as he intended yesterday.
Journal of a Residence at Bagdad
Anthony Groves

British Dictionary definitions for pasha

pasha

pacha

noun

(formerly) a provincial governor or other high official of the Ottoman Empire or the modern Egyptian kingdom: placed after a name when used as a title

Word Origin for pasha

C17: from Turkish paşa

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

Word Origin and History for pasha

Turkish honorary title formerly given to officers of high rank, 1640s, from Turkish pasha, earlier basha, from bash "head, chief" (no clear distinction between -b- and -p- in Turkish), from Old Persian pati- "master," from PIE *poti- (see potent) + root of shah. Earlier in English as bashaw (1530s).