Etymology

munshi

mun·shi
M3U1N1S1H4I1

Today it means: A clerk or secretary. Full definition →

First used 17th c.Urdu منشی ← Classical Persian منشی ← Arabic مُنْشِئ
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The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromمُنْشِئ“teacher; writer”
  2. Classical Persian · borrowed fromمنشی“secretary; munshi”
  3. Urdu · borrowed fromمنشی“secretary; munshi”
  4. English todaymunshi

Borrowed from Urdu منشی (munšī, “secretary; munshi”) or directly from its etymon Classical Persian منشی (munšī, “secretary; munshi”), from Arabic مُنْشِئ (munšiʔ, “teacher; writer”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. A clerk or secretary.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.