rajah

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
"Well, you see the rajah is a Mussulman."

View all »
Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A prince, chief, or ruler in India or the East Indies.
  2. Word History
    Rajah is familiar to us from the Sanskrit rājā, "king,” and mahārājā, "great king.” The Sanskrit root raj-, "to rule,” comes from the Indo-European root *reg-, "to move in a straight line, direct, rule.” The same Indo-European root appears in Italic (Latin) and Celtic. Rēx means "king” in Latin, coming from *reg-s, whence our regal and, through French, royal. Two of the Gaulish kings familiar to us from Caesar, Dumnorix and Vercingetorix, incorporate the Celtic word rīx, "king,” in their names. (Rīx also forms part of the name of that fictitious, indomitable Gaul Asterix.) Germanic at some time borrowed the Celtic word rīx. It appears as reiks, "ruler,” in Gothic, as well as in older Germanic names ending in -ric, such as Alaric and Theodoric, the latter of whom has a name that is equivalent to German Dietrich, "people's king.” A derivative of Celtic rīx, *rīg-yo-, meaning "rule, domain,” was also borrowed into Germanic, and is the source of German Reich, "rule, empire.”

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • We dispatched our surgeon, but it was found impossible to admit him into the sacred precincts of the seraglio, and he returned with the information that the rajah was asleep 21st._--Our fleet were in readiness before daylight, and by five o'clock we left Kuching, [3] and dropped down the river. —  The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido For the Suppression of Piracy
  • The Panglima rajah was a slave-debtor, though we did not know it for some time after our arrival. —  The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido For the Suppression of Piracy
  • On their arrival they were received and brought up amid large wax torches, and the person who was to read them was stationed on a raised platform; standing below him was the rajah, with a saber in his hand; in front of the rajah was his brother, Pangeran Jaffer, with a tremendous kempilan drawn; and around were the other brothers and myself, all standing--the rest of the company being seated. —  The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido For the Suppression of Piracy
  • His love for the rajah was changed to hate, and in his mad anger he flung discretion to the winds. —  The Ape, the Idiot ; Other People
  • They all received a reward--more or less, as the rajah was pleased with their performances Burnett, it must be confessed, looked in vain for the appearance of Nuna, who, it was possible, might have been among the audience behind the gauze curtain at the further end of the hall And how have you enjoyed our evening's entertainment?" —  The Young Rajah
 

Tags

rajah hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 41 times.

On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (1)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Hindi rājā, from Sanskrit, king; see reg- in Indo-European roots.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/ˈrɑjə/
by American Heritage

Charts

frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a year.

Recently looked up

CROP · gravity · diphthong · demonstrative · Plunged

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

Der dicke Dachdecker deckte dir dein Dach, drum dank dem dicken Dachdecker, dass der dicke Dachdecker dir dein Dach deckte. · weitläufig · und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, so leben sie noch heute · redescheu · selbstverständlich