shalwar kameez

/ˈsʌlvɒː kəˈmiːs/

noun

An outfit worn by men and women in South Asian countries comprising loose trousers and a long shirt.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noun

alternative salwar kamees · alternative salwar kameez · alternative shalwar kamees · alternative shalwar-kameez

  1. An outfit worn by men and women in South Asian countries comprising loose trousers and a long shirt.

    Basir tended to wear a beige suede parka over his shalwar kameez.

    2002 January 3, James Meek, London Review of Books
    2 more examples

    But the clientele that morning was mainly veiled wives in black burkas and bearded men wearing shalwar kameez

    2004 December 13, The New Yorker, page 52

    Karzai is the ultimate Afghan debonair, famous for combining traditional dresses of various ethnic groups—a shalwar kameez outfit, a striped green and blue chapan cape and his karakul cap.

    2026 September 5, Andres Schipani, “Lunch with the FT: Hamid Karzei”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3

Origin

From Hindustani शलवार क़मीज़ (śalvār qamīz) / شلوار قمیص (śalvār qamīs), from Persian, from Arabic.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shalwar kameez. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shalwar%20kameez

MLA

“shalwar kameez.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shalwar%20kameez. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shalwar kameez,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shalwar%20kameez.

Source: shalwar kameez on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.