Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mahout

/məˈhaʊt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.75 in modern English

Syllables
ma-hout
IPA
/məˈhaʊt/
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An elephant trainer, keeper, and driver.

verb

To drive (an elephant or elephants).

Transitive verb

verb

To drive elephants.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

PIE word *méǵh₂s The noun is borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi महौत (mahaut)/Urdu مَہَوت (mahaut)), महाउत (mahāut), variants of महावत (mahāvat)/مَہاوَت (mahāvat), from Sanskrit महामात्र (mahāmātra, “elephant keeper; high official; king’s minister”), from महा (mahā, “great”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”)) + मात्र (mātra, “measure; quantity”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”)). The verb is derived from the noun.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *meh₁-, महौत, مَہَوت, महामात्र, *méǵh₂s

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /məˈhaʊt/
  • British English: /məˈhaʊt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce mahout?
The recorded pronunciation is /məˈhaʊt/.
What does mahout mean?
An elephant trainer, keeper, and driver.
Where does mahout come from?
It is traced to Hindi.

How to pronounce mahout

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