Etymology

desai

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Today it means: In west and south India, a native official in charge of a district, often held by heredity; a petty chief. Full definition →

Marathi देसाई ← Gujarati દેસાઈ
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The story

  1. Gujarati · borrowed fromદેસાઈ
  2. Marathi · borrowed fromदेसाई“leader of a village”
  3. English todayDesai

Borrowed from Marathi देसाई (desāī, “leader of a village”), or from Gujarati દેસાઈ (desāī). This surname is mostly found in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.