kotwal

K5O1T1W4A1L1

noun

The leader of a kot or fort in medieval India.

OriginHindi कोतवाल →
RareScrabble 13
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounkotwal (plural kotwals)

plural kotwals · alternative catwal · alternative cotwal · alternative cutwal · alternative cutwaul · alternative kutwal

  1. historicalThe leader of a kot or fort in medieval India.
  2. The local police chief or magistrate of a town or city in India or the East Indies.

    Why do people pay taxes, offer their wrists for manacling when the kotwal or even an ordinary policeman shows up at the door to arrest a man who is accused of committing a theft or murder?

    1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 437

Origin

  1. Hindiकोतवाल
  2. Englishkotwal

Borrowed from Hindi कोतवाल (kotvāl); see there for more.

More words from Hindi

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kotwal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kotwal

MLA

“kotwal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kotwal. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kotwal,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kotwal.

Source: kotwal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.