zamindari, n. & adj.

zamindari
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zamindari_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zamindarinoun & adjective

## Earlier version

- zemindary in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the word zamindari mean?

There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the word zamindari. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

zamindari has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

economics and commerce (mid 1700s) law (1970s)

### How common is the word zamindari?

About 0.2occurrences per million words in modern written English

1830 | 0.002
1840 | 0.0028
1850 | 0.013
1860 | 0.03
1870 | 0.044
1880 | 0.058
1890 | 0.072
1900 | 0.07
1910 | 0.067
1920 | 0.074
1930 | 0.12
1940 | 0.17
1950 | 0.23
1960 | 0.26
1970 | 0.28
1980 | 0.25
1990 | 0.21
2000 | 0.18
2010 | 0.16

### How is the word zamindari pronounced?

#### British English

/zəˈmiːndəri/
zuh-MEEN-duh-ree

#### U.S. English

/zəˈmindəri/
zuh-MEEN-duhr-ee
/zəˌminˈdɑri/
zuh-meen-DAR-ee

### Where does the word zamindari come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1700s

The earliest known use of the word zamindari is in the mid 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for zamindari is from 1742, in the writing of J. Fraser.

zamindari is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Urdu. Partly a borrowing from Persian.

Etymons: Urdu zamīndārī, Persian zamīndārī.

### Nearby entries

1. Zambianization, n. 1964–
2. Zambianize, v. 1964–
3. zambo, n. 1819–
4. Zamboni, n. 1965–
5. zambra, n. 1672–
6. zambuk, n. 1906–
7. zamburak, n. 1825–
8. zami, n. 1977–
9. Zamia, n. 1819–
10. zamindar, n. 1683–
11. zamindari, n. & adj.1742–
12. zamindarship, n. 1698–1902
13. zamioid, adj. 1860–
14. zamorin, n. 1582–
15. zampino, n. 1881–
16. zampogna, n. 1740–
17. zampone, n. 1860–
18. zamzawed, adj. 1743–
19. Zamzummim, n. 1530–
20. Zande, n. 1873–
21. zander, n. 1854–

## Etymology

### Summary

Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Urdu. Partly a borrowing from Persian.
Etymons: Urdu zamīndārī, Persian zamīndārī.
< (i) Urdu zamīndārī (pronounced with either /a/ or /æ/ in the first syllable),

and its etymon (ii) Indian Persian zamīndārī < zamīndār zamindar n. + ‑ī, suffix forming abstract nouns…
< (i) Urdu zamīndārī (pronounced with either /a/ or /æ/ in the first syllable),

and its etymon (ii) Indian Persian zamīndārī < zamīndār zamindar n. + ‑ī, suffix forming abstract nouns.

### Notes

With the α forms compare the α forms at zamindar n. and the discussion at that entry.
The form jemindary (with initial j-) reflects a colloquial Urdu pronunciation.

## Meaning & use

Now historical.

1. noun
   1. 1.
      1742–
      A territory or area administered by a zamindar.
      Sometimes opposed to haveli (haveli n. 1).
      1. 1742

         > He made off, and went towards his own Zemidari.

         J. Fraser, History of Nadir Shah 218
      2. 1776

         > The Chief and Council of Ganjam..recommend the converting [of] some of the smaller Zemindaries into Havelly Lands.

         in 2nd Rep. Comm. Causes of War in Carnatic (1781) App. 8. §11
      3. 1830

         > This system prevailed both in the Zemindaries and in the Havelly, or fiscal lands under the direct management of the government.

         J. Briggs, Present Land-tax India 234
      4. 1858

         > The ancient zemindarry of Golugondah, which yields about 10,000 rupees of clear surplus annually.

         J. B. Norton, Topics for Indian Statesmen 165
      5. 1917

         > There is no such man within my zamindary as can catch the living snake.

         Chambers's Journal December 781/1
      6. 1959

         > The robbers rarely carried on their depredations in the zamindari of their residence.

         B. B. Misra, Central Administration of East India Company 1773–1834 vi. 331
      7. 2008

         > A well-wisher in Calcutta had warned her of financial trouble in the Raskhali zemindary.

         A. Ghosh, Sea of Poppies ii. 45
      economics and commerce historical
      1. collection 1472–1880
         A district under the jurisdiction of a collector of taxes, customs, etc.; a collectorate. Obsolete.
      2. zamindari 1742–
         A territory or area administered by a zamindar.
      3. collectorate 1791–
         An area over which a collector (collector, n. I.1a) has jurisdiction with regard to the collection of taxes or other levies. In South Asian…
      View in Historical Thesaurus
      1. scat land 1502–
         Land subject to ‘scat’.
      2. zamindari 1742–
         A territory or area administered by a zamindar.
      3. ounceland 1805–
         A measure of land in Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, and western Scotland, consisting of eighteen or twenty pennylands, on which a feu duty of one…
      4. geld 1809–
         A tax paid to the Crown by English landholders before the Norman Conquest, and continued under the Norman kings.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
   2. 2.
      1757–
      The office or jurisdiction of a zamindar.
      1. 1757

         > All the land laying south of Calcutta, as far as Culpee, shall be under the Zemindarry of the English Company.

         in Copy of Advocate, Attorney & Solicitor Generals Rep. (1767) 16
      2. 1758

         > Sunnud from the Dewan of the Subah of Bengal, for the Zemindarry of the Lands granted to the Company.

         in Journal House of Commons (1772) vol. XXXIII. 850/1
      3. 1785

         > The zemindary was secured to the family and descendants of Bulwant Sing.

         Annual Register 1783 Hist. Europe 5/2
      4. 1872

         > The zemindars succeeded to their zemindaries by right of hereditance.

         A. Bastian, Die Rechtsverhältnisse bei Verschiedenen Völkern der Erde ii. 72 (note)
      5. 1890

         > The appellant, who was the eldest son of the late zemindar..contended that the zemindary was impartible.

         Times 8 March 4/1
      6. 1962

         > At the end of the uprisings, the English rewarded him for his assistance with the title ‘Raja of Nilganj’ and the zamindari of 15 villages.

         Econ. Development & Cultural Change vol. 11 24
      7. 2012

         > He probably feels that he should have inherited the zamindari.

         H. Gantzer & C. Gantzer, Year before Sunset 229
      economics and commerce historical
      1. zamindari 1757–
         The office or jurisdiction of a zamindar.
      2. collectorship 1772–
         In South Asian contexts: the post or position of collector (collector, n. I.1d); the office held by the head of an administrative unit or district…
      View in Historical Thesaurus
      1. farm c1405–
         The action or an act of leasing the privilege of collecting and retaining the whole revenue of a tax or duty, in return for payment of a fixed…
      2. farmage 1528–
         The action, practice, or system of farming taxes or duties; the privilege or right of farming a tax or duty. Also: the action of renting or leasing…
      3. zamindarship 1698–1902
         The office or jurisdiction of a zamindar; = zamindari, n. A.2.
      4. zamindari 1757–
         The office or jurisdiction of a zamindar.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
   3. 3.
      1976–
      The system of land tenure and revenue collection administered by means of zamindars.
      1. 1976

         > Zamindari was abolished in 1951-52 in these villages.

         V. P. Singh, Caste, Class & Democracy iv. 89
      2. 1988

         > People of different communities were welded together in a common struggle against the oppressive system of Zamindari, or landlordism.

         Indian Bookworm's Journal Autumn 18/3
      3. 2006

         > Through legislation zamindari was abolished in Bihar soon after independence.

         Econ. & Polit. Weekly vol. 41 4288/2
      law historical
      1. zamindarship 1698–1902
         The office or jurisdiction of a zamindar; = zamindari, n. A.2.
      2. ryotwari 1807–
         The ryotwari system of land tenure.
      3. convention 1828–
         A system of tenure under which terms are fixed by agreement between parties rather than by custom; (in Cornwall and parts of Devon) spec. a system…
      4. landlordism 1844–
         The principles or practice of landlords; the system according to which land is owned by landlords to whom tenants pay a fixed rent (chiefly used…
      5. shared ownership 1913–
         The state or condition of sharing the ownership of something, spec. (in the United Kingdom) a system whereby the occupier of a dwelling buys a…
      6. flatshare 1965–
         An arrangement whereby tenants share a residence, esp. a flat, typically as cohabitants of rented accommodation; (also) a flat rented under such an…
      7. shorthold 1976–
         A type of lease or system of tenure in which the tenant agrees to rent a property for a fixed short term and the landlord retains the right to…
      8. zamindari 1976–
         The system of land tenure and revenue collection administered by means of zamindars.
      9. secure tenancy 1980–
         A residential tenancy provided by a local authority or housing association which offers security of tenure (even after the expiration of the…
      10. secure tenure 1987–
          The fact of having or offering secure tenancy (cf. secure tenancy, n.).
      View in Historical Thesaurus
2. adjective
   1. 1763–
      Of or belonging to a zamindar or zamindars; designating or relating to the system of land tenure and revenue collection administered by means of zamindars.
      1. 1763

         > They may be presumed more to be depended on for determining equitably any disputes about points of trade,..than any zemindary court.

         Extract of Consultation 1 March in Orig. Papers Disturbances in Bengal (1765) vol. II. 47
      2. 1790

         > An Inquiry into the nature of Zemindary Tenures in the landed property of Bengal.

         J. Grant (title)
      3. 1835

         > The parties are members of a zemindary family.

         Asiatic Journal & Monthly Register vol. 17 ii. 195/1
      4. 1885

         > They now..cultivate the lands of some eight or ten zemindari estates.

         G. S. Forbes, Wild Life in Canara 171
      5. 1915

         > Whole inam properties amounting to about 50,000 acres; and zemindari lands of rather more than 100,000 acres.

         S. Playne et al., Southern India 398/1
      6. 1968

         > After independence, many Hindu zamindars fled, the zamindary system was abolished and the land divided into tiny portions and sold to the Muslims.

         Times 6 April (Pakistan Supplement) p. v/4
      7. 2005

         > The ghazi (itinerant warlord) and the mirza (respectable rooted gentry of the zamindari class) co-existed in the Mughal polity.

         Modern Asian Studies vol. 39 504
      historical

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zəˈmiːndəri/
zuh-MEEN-duh-ree

### U.S. English

/zəˈmindəri/
zuh-MEEN-duhr-ee
/zəˌminˈdɑri/
zuh-meen-DAR-ee

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

##### α.

1. 1700s
   zemeedary, zemidari, zemidary

##### β.

1. 1700s
   jemindary
2. 1700s–1800s
   zemindaree, zemindarry
3. 1700s–1900s
   zemeendary, zemendary
4. 1700s–
   zemindary
5. 1800s–1900s
   zumeendary
6. 1800s–
   zamindari, zamindary, zemindari
7. 1900s
   zameendary

## Frequency

zamindari typically occurs about 0.2 times per million words in modern written English.

zamindari is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zamindari, n. & adj., 1830–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1830 | 0.002
1840 | 0.0028
1850 | 0.013
1860 | 0.03
1870 | 0.044
1880 | 0.058
1890 | 0.072
1900 | 0.07
1910 | 0.067
1920 | 0.074
1930 | 0.12
1940 | 0.17
1950 | 0.23
1960 | 0.26
1970 | 0.28
1980 | 0.25
1990 | 0.21
2000 | 0.18
2010 | 0.16

### Frequency of zamindari, n. & adj., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.002
2018 | 0.0038
2019 | 0.0043
2020 | 0.0051
2021 | 0.005
2022 | 0.0055
2023 | 0.0046
2024 | 0.0041

zamindari, n. & adj. was revised in June 2018.

zamindari, n. & adj. was last modified in December 2024.