Sirdar
/sɪərˈdɑːr/noun
A commander or leader, especially a military commander in South Asia or the former Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Did you know?The title became especially prominent under British rule in India and Sudan, where “Sirdar” could designate senior military leadership, including the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Army.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PII
*sáras
“Head; a word-form ancestral to later Indo-Iranian terms for the head or chief.”
Ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
śiras
“Head or summit.”
Middle Persian
Middle Persian
sardār
“Commander or leader, literally “holder of the head,” from sar, “head,” plus dār, “holder.””
Medieval Persian
Persian
sardār
“Chief, commander, or military leader.”
18th–19th Century
Hindi/Urdu
sirdār
“A chief, leader, or commander; the vowel form shifted in South Asian usage.”
19th Century–Modern English
English
sirdar
“A commander or leader, particularly in colonial South Asian and Sudanese contexts.”