Meanings
plural gomashtas · alternative gomasta · alternative gomushta · alternative gomusta · alternative gumasta · alternative gumashta · alternative gumusta · alternative gomashtah · alternative gomastah · alternative gomustah · alternative gumastah · alternative gumashtah · alternative gumustah
- IndiahistoricalA native Indian clerk or steward.
This met with no response and nor did the gomusta require any.
2008, Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies, Penguin, published 20152 more examples
In Bengal, and particularly among the English, the word gomastah is confined, in a partial sense, to those Hindoos who are sent by the Company's servants into the inland-country, furnished with dustucks, to buy or sell goods, on stipulated monthly wages; without drawing commission, or having the liberty to trade on their own account. But among the natives of Hindostan, in the more general acceptation, the word gomastah is indiscriminately used for every sort of representative, or agent; from the ambassador down to the merchant's clerk, or even the foreman of a manufactory.
1775, William Bolts, Considerations on India Affairs, Part II, London, page 152But the gomashta now realized that there were other ways of obtaining reparation - and also making money for himself.
2005, Mike Dash, Thug, Granta, published 2006, page 142
Origin
- Persianگماشته“appointed, delegated”
- Urdu[Term?]
- Hindi[Term?]
- Englishgomashta
From Hindi [Term?], Urdu [Term?], from Persian گماشته (“appointed, delegated”).
More words from Hindi, Urdu, Persian
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
gomashta. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gomashta
“gomashta.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gomashta. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gomashta,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gomashta.
Source: gomashta on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.