raj
UK /ɹɑːd͡ʒ/ · US /ɹɑd͡ʒ/ noun, proper noun
Forms Rajs Rajes
- noun (South Asia) Reign; rule.
- proper noun (proscribed) The whole period of British influence or rule in the Indian subcontinent from the 1600s to 1947.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A male given name.
- noun (by extension from the proper noun) A system of government where authority is exercised by a specific group. “Licence Raj; Mafia Raj; Goonda Raj”
- proper noun A diminutive of the male given name Rajiv.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindi राज (rāj), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-. Doublet of rex, rich, and others.
Proprialisation of raj (“(India) reign, rule”, noun), borrowed from Hindustani
राज / راج (rāj, “reign, rule; empire, kingdom; country, state; royalty”), from Sanskrit राज्य (rājyá, “empire, kingdom, realm; kingship, royalty, sovereignty; country”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to right or straighten oneself; to govern, rule; just; right”). Doublet of Reich.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [See Rajah.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “raj”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details