nawab

na·wab
N1A1W4A1B3
/nəˈwɑːb//nəˈwɔːb/

noun

A Muslim official in South Asia acting as a provincial deputy ruler under the Mughal empire; a local governor.

Similar
UncommonFirst used 17th c.Scrabble 10

Meanings

nounnawab (plural nawabs)

plural nawabs

  1. historicalA Muslim official in South Asia acting as a provincial deputy ruler under the Mughal empire; a local governor.First known use 17th c.

    The nawabs of Bhopal, Ranput, Murshidabad, and Dhaka, along with the nizam of Hyderabad, all affirmed that the sultan has misled Muslims with his “erroneous” call to jihad and insisted that Indian Muslims had a duty to support Great Britain.

    2015, Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans, Penguin, published 2016, page 71
    1 more example

    Colonel Altamont, the Nawaub of Lucknow’s prime favourite, an extraordinary man, who had, it was said, embraced Mahometanism, and undergone a thousand wild and perilous adventures was at present in this country, trying to negotiate with the Begum Clavering, the sale of the Nawaub’s celebrated nose-ring diamond, ‘the light of the Dewan.’

    1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 38, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC
  2. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polyura (possibly a subgenus of genus Charaxes).

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna governor in India during the Mogul empire

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Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Arabicنُوَّاب
  2. Persianنوّاب
  3. Urduنواب
  4. Hindiनवाब
  5. Englishnawab

From Hindi नवाब (navāb)/Urdu نواب (navāb), from Persian نوّاب (navvâb), ultimately from Arabic نُوَّاب (nuwwāb), plural of نَائِب (nāʔib, “naib”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic نواب
  • نواب (nuwwāb)title
Bengali নওয়াব, নবাব
  • নওয়াব (noōẇab)title
  • নবাব (nobab)title
Hindi नवाब
  • नवाब (navāb)title
Hungarian navab
  • navabtitle
Persian نواب
  • نوابtitle
Polish nawab
  • nawabtitle
Portuguese nababo
  • nababotitle
Russian набо́б
  • набо́б (nabób)title
Urdu نواب
  • نواب (navāb)title

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with nawab

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Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

nawab. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nawab

MLA

“nawab.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nawab. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nawab,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nawab.

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