Chokidar

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person employed to keep watch over property or premises, especially overnight, commonly in South Asian countries
2. Someone who acts as a night watch or security guard, particularly in India and neighboring regions
3. A caretaker responsible for guarding buildings or land, typically seen in South Asian contexts

Etymology: "Chokidar" is a spelling variant of "chaukidar," a Hindi word for a watchman or guard. Its two parts are plain and transparent: "caukī" means "post" or "station," and "-dār" is a suffix meaning "holder" or "keeper," so the word literally describes someone who holds a post. The same suffix appears in many other Hindi and Urdu words for people entrusted with something, such as "zamindar," a landholder. The sense of the word has stayed close to its origin. The guard was, in effect, the person stationed at a fixed point, responsible for watching over a building or stretch of ground, which is why the word transferred so easily into English-language writing about domestic and commercial security in South Asia. The spelling "chokidar" reflects a common rendering of the Hindi vowel in English transliteration, and both forms are in use.