wallah
part of speech
noun (a wallah, wallahs)
meaning for a pupil
1) (India, informal) A person who does a particular job or is connected with a particular thing, as in chai-wallah (a tea seller) or rickshaw-wallah. tree →
2) (old-fashioned UK slang) A person in charge of something, often said jokingly: "the computer wallah". tree →
sense in the lessons
The word comes from Hindi and Urdu and is common in Indian English and in British English from the time when Britain ruled India. In India it is part of everyday names for jobs: dabbawala (lunchbox delivery person), chai-wallah. In old British books it may be used jokingly. Some people find the old British use a little dated. Phrases: "chai-wallah", "the tech wallah".
examples
- The chai-wallah poured hot sweet tea at the station. tree →
- In Mumbai, dabbawalas deliver thousands of lunchboxes every day. tree →
- Ask the computer wallah to fix the printer. tree →
- The rickshaw-wallah pedalled us through the busy market. tree →
- Grandad called the man who sold ice cream "the ice-cream wallah". tree →
- The paper wallah threw the newspaper onto the step. tree →
note
Countable. Also spelled "walla" or "wala" (dabbawala). Usually joined to another word with a hyphen. It is informal. Do not confuse with "wallaby" (an animal like a small kangaroo) or "wally" (a silly person).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «wallah» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.