Meanings
plural salwar kameezes · alternative salvar kameez · alternative shalwar kameez · alternative shalwar-kameez
- An outfit worn in South Asian countries comprising colourful loose trousers and a long shirt for females and plain and simple for the males.
Kazmi has a persistent cough and frequently quotes Karl Marx. Despite the heat, he wears a woolly hat and a waistcoat over his salwar kameez.
2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian
Origin
From Hindustani सलवार क़मीज़ (salvār qamīz) / سلوار قمیص (salvār qamīs), from Persian, from Arabic.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
salwar kameez. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salwar%20kameez
“salwar kameez.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salwar%20kameez. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “salwar kameez,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salwar%20kameez.
Source: salwar kameez on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.