subadar

American  

[soo-buh-dahr] / ˌsu bəˈdɑr /

Or subahdar

noun

1. a provincial governor of the Mogul empire.

2. the chief Indian officer of a company of troops in the British Indian Army.

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subadar British  

/ ˈsuːbəˌdɑː /

noun

1. Also called: subah.  (formerly) the chief native officer of a company of Indian soldiers in the British service

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Etymology

Origin of subadar

First recorded in 1665–75; from Urdu, from Persian, equivalent to ṣūba “province” + dār “holding, holder”

Example Sentences

“I asked a wounded havildar who it was that led the column, and he told me the commander was a new arrival, a subadar of the 8th Irregular Cavalry, named Akhab Khan,” he said.

From The Red Year A Story of the Indian Mutiny by Tracy, Louis

His loss had been one subadar, one havildar, and three sipahees killed; one subadar, two havildars, one naik, and fourteen sipahees wounded and missing.

From A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & II by Sleeman, William

Malcolm had been detained nearly half an hour by some difficulty which a subadar had experienced in arranging the details of the night’s guard.

From The Red Year A Story of the Indian Mutiny by Tracy, Louis

I will quote, in concluding this discussion, the opinion of an old Gurkha subadar who had seen much fighting.

From The Story of the Malakand Field Force An Episode of Frontier War by Churchill, Winston

The subadar will take you down to the men's lines.

From Through Three Campaigns A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti by Paget, Walter