Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun India A native prince or king; also, a landholder or person of importance in the agricultural districts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a Hindu prince or ruler in India

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a prince or king in India

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Hindustani राजा (rājā) / راجا (rājā), from Sanskrit राजन् (rājan, "king, prince").

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Examples

  • On their arrival they were received and brought up amid large wax torches, and the person who was to read them was stationed on a raised platform; standing below him was the rajah, with a saber in his hand; in front of the rajah was his brother, Pangeran Jaffer, with a tremendous kempilan drawn; and around were the other brothers and myself, all standing -- the rest of the company being seated.

    The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido For the Suppression of Piracy Henry Keppel

  • There he was the guest of a rajah, that is, a sort of king.

    The Wonders of the Jungle, Book Two Sarath Kumar Ghosh

  • This so-called rajah, Ramchund Rao, died without issue in 1835.

    Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 17, No. 099, March, 1876 Various

  • We have an indefinable impression that the rajah is a sensuous, indolent, extravagant sybarite, given to polo, diamonds and dancing girls, and amputates the heads of his subjects at pleasure; but that is very far from the truth.

    Modern India William Eleroy Curtis 1880

  • "The rajah is a regular old pirate, as my father says, and he helps himself to whatever he fancies from everybody round, but there's nothing stingy about him as you'll find."

    The Rajah of Dah George Manville Fenn 1870

  • The rajah was the only one in European costume, and at the first glance at the man, with his heavy fat sensual-looking face and lurid eyes, Ned recalled his companion's words: "Whatever you see, do not laugh."

    The Rajah of Dah George Manville Fenn 1870

  • "We now know what we all along suspected -- the rajah is a rascal, and we have not only found out where his prahus are hidden, but have them corked up in a bottle."

    Among Malay Pirates : a Tale of Adventure and Peril 1867

  • As far as he could ascertain, the rajah was the only man possessed of the important secret he wished to obtain, so that should the old chief lose his life Reginald would be deprived of the only clue which might lead to its elucidation.

    The Young Rajah William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • The king is called rajah and is very powerful, for he comes sometimes against Columbo, where the

    A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 07 Robert Kerr 1784

  • He became "rajah," that is to say "shining," for such was the meaning of the word at the Vedic epoch.

    The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 01 Rossiter Johnson 1885

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