Wallahs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who is engaged in a particular activity or profession, often used in contexts related to trade or service in South Asian cultures
2. Referring to a specific individual or group associated with a certain function, such as a vendor or worker in a market setting
3. An informal term describing individuals who have expertise or specific roles in various trades, commonly seen in the context of South Asia

Etymology: "Wallahs" is simply the plural of "wallah," so it inherits whatever history its singular carries. That history is contested. One candidate is Hindi "vālā," meaning "pertaining to" or, as a noun, "person in charge," a suffix-like word that turns a noun into "the one connected with" it, as in "chai-wallah" for a tea seller. A second candidate traces the word to Arabic "wal-lāh," literally "by God," an exclamatory oath that traveled into the subcontinent's languages. A third, more surprising proposal links it to French. The word "voilà," meaning "there it is" or "behold," is said to have been corrupted into "wallah," perhaps through the way British colonists heard and repeated it. Yet the French-origin account is the least certain of the three, and the suffix explanation is the one most often preferred for the compounds that English speakers now use.