howadji

English

Alternative forms

• howaji, howajji

Etymology

From Arabic خَوَاجَا (ḵawājā, “gentleman”), from Persian خواجه (xvâje, “gentleman”). The term came to be applied to merchants because they were formerly the chief travellers. Doublet of hodja.

Noun

howadji (plural howadjis)

1. (archaic) A traveller or merchant from the Middle East
   • 1854, Bayard Taylor, A Journey to Central Africa; or, Life and Landscapes...:

     "O fisherman, have you any fish?" And he held up a string of them and made answer: "O Howadji, I have."

References

• “howadji”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.