Pattadar
/ˌpætəˈdɑːr/noun
A person who holds a patta, especially a documented right to occupy or possess land in South Asia.
Did you know?Under British Indian administration, the status of a pattadar could determine who was recognized as the legal or revenue-paying holder of cultivated land.
Etymological Timeline
Sanskrit and Middle Indo-Aryan roots
Sanskrit/Prakrit
paṭṭa
“A strip, tablet, document, or written record; the source of the South Asian term patta.”
Medieval Indo-Persian usage
Persian
dār
“Holder, possessor, or keeper; the agent noun connected with Persian dāshtan, “to hold” or “possess.””
Early Modern South Asia
Hindi/Urdu
paṭṭādār
“A holder of a patta, particularly someone possessing a land grant, lease, or revenue document.”
18th–19th Century
Anglo-Indian English
pattadar
“A recognized holder or occupier of land in South Asian revenue and administrative terminology.”
Modern English
English
pattadar
“A holder of a patta or recorded landholding right, chiefly in Indian legal, historical, and administrative contexts.”