raj
noun
(in India) rule, especially the British rule prior to 1947.
raj
American
[rahj]
/ rɑdʒ /
noun
(often initial capital letter)
Raj
1
British
/ rɑːdʒ /
noun
raj
2
British
/ rɑːdʒ /
noun
Etymology
Origin of raj
1790–1800; < Hindi rāj < Pali, Prakrit rajja < Sanskrit rājya kingdom, rule
Explanation
The raj was the period in history when the British Empire ruled over a region of South Asia that includes the modern countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In Hindi, raj means "rule" or "kingdom." Britain's control over the Indian subcontinent during the 19th and 20th centuries was officially known as British India, but it was commonly referred to as "the British Raj" or simply "the Raj." The raj officially began in 1858, and it lasted through 1947 when the region was split into two sovereign states, India and Pakistan. Today the former raj consists of five independent nations.
Vocabulary lists containing raj
South Asia - Middle School and High School
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History of India - Introductory
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Chapters 27–28
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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.
The nizam juggled between his obligations to the colonial raj and to India’s rising pro-independence leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
Other states provide much less to their panchayati raj and at varying levels each year.
From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2014
When the license-permit-quota raj was dismantled in the 1990s, it was expected that corruption would diminish.
From Newsweek • Jun. 12, 2011
Further in, it's the raj of the "Dada log".
From The Guardian • Mar. 27, 2010
In India the news of the capture of White, a former Commander in Chief, and of his removal as a prisoner of war, would have seriously, if not fatally, impaired the British raj.
From A Handbook of the Boer War With General Map of South Africa and 18 Sketch Maps and Plans by
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.
