Etymology

tawaif

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Today it means: A professional courtesan serving the nobility, especially under the Mughal Empire; (derogatory) Full definition →

Hindi तवायफ़ ← Urdu طَوائِف ← Classical Persian طَوَائِف
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The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromطَوائِف
  2. Classical Persian · derived fromطَوَائِف
  3. Urdu · borrowed fromطَوائِف
  4. Hindi · borrowed fromतवायफ़
  5. English todaytawaif

Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi तवायफ़ (tavāyaf) / Urdu طَوائِف (tavāif)), in turn derived from Classical Persian طَوَائِف (tawā'if), ultimately derived from Arabic طَوائِف (ṭawāʔif).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.