Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

badmash

/bʌdˈmɑːʃ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: bad-mash
IPA: /bʌdˈmɑːʃ/

15

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A rogue, ruffian or miscreant.

Indian usage

Example Sentences

"‘However big a badmash one is – if one's happy in consequence, that's some justification.’"
"Once the five had left for the village, the Dutchman had immediately begun working on the badmash who had stood up to the havildar."
"His wife laughed. “You'll see purdahs when we reach Port Said.” “And a bazaar?” “That's a market!” “Who's a badmash?” “A bad man is called a badmash. I'm not a badmash. Am I?”"

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani بدمعاش (badm'āś) / बदमाश (badmāś) and its source, Persian بدمعاش (badma'âš), from بد (bad, “bad, evil”) + معاش (ma'âš, “life, livelihood”), ultimately from Arabic عَاشَ (ʕāša, “to live”). Compare lowlife, which is a similar formation in English.

Origin

Source language: Persian

Word Breakdown

Root: ع ي ش, بدمعاش, عَاشَ

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /bʌdˈmɑːʃ/

Usage

Indian usage

Inflected Forms

badmashes (plural) badmaash (alternative) budmash (alternative)

Rhymes With

wash moustache quash stache gouache ganache chuvash

Questions

How do you pronounce badmash?: The recorded pronunciation is /bʌdˈmɑːʃ/.
What does badmash mean?: A rogue, ruffian or miscreant.
Where does badmash come from?: It is traced to Persian.

How to pronounce badmash

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “badmash”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bʌdˈmɑːʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “badmash”.
Repeat and practice — Say “badmash” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.