rajah

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ra·ja

or ra·jah (rä′jə, -zhə)

A prince, chief, or ruler in India or the East Indies.

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

Word History: Raja 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 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 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."

rajah

(ˈrɑːdʒə) or

raja

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in India, formerly) a ruler or landlord: sometimes used as a form of address or as a title preceding a name

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a Malayan or Javanese prince or chieftain

[C16: from Hindi rājā, from Sanskrit rājan king; see raj; compare Latin rex king]

ra•jah

or ra•ja

(ˈrɑ dʒə)

n., pl. -jahs or -jas.

a title of princes and chieftains in India and areas of Southeast Asia once subject to Indian influence.

[1545–55; < Hindi rājā; compare Skt rājan; c. Old Irish rí, Latin rēx king]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

rajah - a prince or king in India

raja

aristocrat, blue blood, patrician - a member of the aristocracy

Translations

راجا: أمير أو مَلِك في الهِنْد

rádža

raja

Radscha

radjah raja

indiai fejedelem

fursti

radža

raja

radža

raca

印度的王侯公首长领

rajah

[ˈrɑːdʒə] N → rajá m

rajah

[ˈrɑːdʒə] n → rajah m, radja m

rajah

n → Radscha m

rajah

[ˈrɑːdʒə] n → ragià m inv

rajah

(ˈraːdʒə) noun

an Indian king or prince.

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References in classic literature ?

It was the body of an old man, gorgeously arrayed in the habiliments of a rajah, wearing, as in life, a turban embroidered with pearls, a robe of tissue of silk and gold, a scarf of cashmere sewed with diamonds, and the magnificent weapons of a Hindoo prince.

Is that of the prince, her husband," said the guide; "an independent rajah of Bundelcund.

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The Rajah Muda Saffir, tiring of the excuses and delays which Bududreen interposed to postpone the fulfillment of his agreement with the former, whereby he was to deliver into the hands of the rajah a certain beautiful maiden, decided at last to act upon his own initiative.

When they caught up with Rajah Muda Saffir near the beach, they narrated a fearful tale of fifty terrible white men with whom they had battled valiantly, killing many, before they had been compelled to retreat in the face of terrific odds.

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Here is a virtuous and high-born widow of a Hill Rajah on pilgrimage, she says, to Buddha Gay.

Then she told a long, long tale to the world at large, of an ignorant young policeman who had disturbed some small Hill Rajah, a- ninth cousin of her own, in the matter of a trivial land-case, winding up with a quotation from a work by no means devotional.

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There is a rajah in the northern provinces who has much wealth, though his lands are small.

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I shall make you tell me about Rajahs presently," he said, "but first tell me what the second thing was.