sirkar

English

Etymology

From Urdu سركار (sirkār), from Persian سرکار (sarkār), compound of سر (sar, “head”) + كار (kār, “agent, doer”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɜːkɑː/

Noun

sirkar (plural sirkars)

1. (India) A province or district.
2. (India) The Government, the State.
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘In the House of Suddhoo’, Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 99:

     He said that Janoo had told him that there was an order of the Sirkar against magic, because it was feared that magic might one day kill the Empress of India.

3. (India) A native house servant.