Lashkar

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to a military or paramilitary group, especially in South Asia
2. Denoting a formation of armed forces, commonly used in regions such as Pakistan and India
3. Describing a collective of soldiers or fighters, often associated with specific political or religious motives

Etymology: The word's surprising journey runs through the sea rather than the battlefield. Persian "laškar" meant an army or military camp, and it passed into Hindustani as "laśkar" with the same sense, which is where the modern meaning of an armed force comes from. Its near-twin, "askari", came into Arabic and related languages from the same Persian stock and also means a soldier, so the two are doublets: one entered English through a different channel and took on another life entirely. That other life was the English "lascar." Because Indian and Persian-speaking sailors were recruited into the military and maritime service of the Indian Ocean world, the Hindustani term came to be applied to them, and English speakers used "lascar" for an Asian seaman working on European ships. The form "lashkar" is an alternative spelling of that same word, so the two share one history, with the military sense preserved in the spelling closer to the Persian original.

Synonyms: army, militia, troops, forces

Antonyms: civilian, noncombatants