Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Dominion or rule, especially the British rule over India (1757–1947).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Rule; dominion.

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

  • noun India Reign; rule.

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

  • noun Reign; rule.

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

  • noun British dominion over India (1757-1947)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Hindi rāj, from Sanskrit rājā, king; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Hindustani राज / راج (rāj), from Sanskrit राज्य (rājyá, "royalty, kingship, sovereignty, empire").

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Examples

  • This was the first time that I have read the term "license raj," but anyone familiar with the India of the 1950's through the 1980's, knows how misguided socialism held them back for decades.

    Forbes.com: News Timothy Siegel 2011

  • He argued that the unitary centre of the raj was a British construction and would stand dissolved at the moment of decolonization.

    Bloggers.Pakistan 2009

  • When English speakers borrowed "raj" around 1800, they used exactly the same spelling and meaning as its Hindi parent (the Hindi word in turn traces to an older term that is related to the Sanskrit word for "king").

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2010

  • When English speakers borrowed "raj" around 1800, they used exactly the same spelling and meaning as its Hindi parent (the Hindi word in turn traces to an older term that is related to the Sanskrit word for "king").

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2010

  • When English speakers borrowed "raj" around 1800, they used exactly the same spelling and meaning as its Hindi parent (the Hindi word in turn traces to an older term that is related to the Sanskrit word for "king").

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2010

  • When English speakers borrowed "raj" around 1800, they used exactly the same spelling and meaning as its Hindi parent (the Hindi word in turn traces to an older term that is related to the Sanskrit word for "king").

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2010

  • "This shows what kind of a Mussolini 'raj' (rule) is prevalent in Maharashtra," Thackeray said, referring to the Italian dictator who ruled Italy with an iron grip in the pre-World War-II years.

    Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Views' 2010

  • I have a doubt, a non root user 'raj' has file permissions of / bin / chmod as 755, then why cant he change the permissions of / tmp (1777) with chmod?

    LinuxQuestions.org 2008

  • But we will fight to end this jungle raj which is destroying all democratic principles. "

    Daily News & Analysis 2010

  • Next came the “license raj,” the system of government permits that regulated who could set up a new business or offer a new product.

    Zero-Sum Future Gideon Rachman 2011

Comments

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  • Jar in reverse.

    November 3, 2007

  • It's really terrible that this word makes me crave Indian food.

    April 30, 2008

  • It makes me crave an elephant ride. And a curry.

    April 30, 2008

  • Sovereignty.

    December 10, 2017