begum
/bəˈɡʌm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.56 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
noun
the form of address for such a woman
noun
An honorific title from Central and South Asia, often used by leading women in society.
Example Sentences
- "He went to India with his capital, and there, according to a wild legend in our family, he was once seen riding on an elephant, in company with a Baboon; but I think it must have been a Baboo—or a Begum."
- "She was the daughter of an English officer, who having fallen in love with an Indian Begum gave up home, country, and friends, and married her."
- "toxic politics dominated by the bitter infighting of the “battling begums” (the widow and daughter of former presidents, who lead the two main parties)."
- "It was a known fact that an envoy from an Indian Prince, a Colonel Altamont, the Nawaub of Lucknow’s prime favourite, an extraordinary man, who had, it was said, embraced Mahometanism, and undergone a thousand wild and perilous adventures was at present in this country, trying to negotiate with the Begum Clavering, the sale of the Nawaub’s celebrated nose-ring diamond, ‘the light of the Dewan.’"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- English gum English begum From be- + gum.
Word Breakdown
- Root: بیگم, -