mahallah

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani محلہ / मुहल्ला (muhallā), from Classical Persian محله (mahalla), from Arabic مَحَلَّة (maḥalla).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /məˈhalə/

Noun

mahallah (plural mahallahs)

  1. (chiefly South Asia) A subdivision or neighborhood.
    • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 483:
      ‘His Majesty signed the search warrant. We are combing the third muhalla now.’
    • 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 63:
      When she was young, Dolly was considered the most beautiful girl in the mohalla.
  2. An armed formation of Arabs.
    • 1986, Giorgio Rochat, Omar al-Mukhtar: The Italian Reconquest of Libya, Darf Publishers, page 43:
      Three large mehalle, with an overall strength of over 1200 infantry and 400 cavalry, occupied the heart of the Gebel.
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