mahout en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /məˈhaːʋət̪/ (India)
- audio
- /məˈhut/ (General-American)
- /məˈhuːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /məˈhaʊt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /məˈhaʊt/ (General-American)
Etymology
PIE word *méǵh₂s The noun is borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi महौत (mahaut)/Urdu مَہَوت (mahaut)), महाउत (mahāut), variants of महावत (mahāvat)/مَہاوَت (mahāvat), from Sanskrit महामात्र (mahāmātra, “elephant keeper; high official; king’s minister”), from महा (mahā, “great”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”)) + मात्र (mātra, “measure; quantity”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”)). The verb is derived from the noun.
Meanings
-
(South-Asia) An elephant trainer, keeper, and driver.
Around mid-day elephants were taken into the forest by their mahouts to forage on foods of their choice, and then carried back a supply of food gathered by mahout and elephant. During the relaxed mid-day period, it was common to see mahouts sleeping on their elephants' backs, under an umbrella for shade.
2005, Lynette A. Hart, “The Elephant–Mahout Relationship in India and Nepal: A Tourist Attraction”, in John Knight, editor, Animals in Person: Cultural Perspectives on Human–Animal Intimacies, Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, published 2020, →ISBN, page 172:[I]n a cabinet were about a hundred little elephants made of ivory. They were of different sizes, and some had their mahouts or palanquins on their backs.
1910 November – 1911 August, Frances Hodgson Burnett, “‘There Was Some One Crying—There Was!’”, in The Secret Garden, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A[bbott] Stokes Company, published 1911, →OCLC, page 71:The Serrievvan hath the overſight of the Camels, and the Mahout, that of the Elephants.
1662, Adam Olearius, “The Voyages & Travels of J. Albert de Mandelslo [i.e., Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo] […] into the East-Indies. […]”, in John Davies, transl., The Voyages & Travels of the Ambassadors from the Duke of Holstein, to the Great Duke of Muscovy, and the King of Persia. […], London: […] Thomas Dring, and John Starkey, […], →OCLC, book I, page 81:The very best of all the elephants belonged to the very worst of all the drivers or mahouts; and the superior beast's name was Moti Guj. He was the absolute property of his mahout, which would never have been the case under native rule, for Moti Guj was a creature to be desired by kings; and his name, being translated, meant the Pearl Elephant.
1891 August, Rudyard Kipling, “Moti Guj—Mutineer”, in Life’s Handicap: Being Stories of Mine Own People, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., […], published October 1891, →OCLC, page 307:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| mahouts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (63)
pt cornaca (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · as মাউত (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · et elevandijuht (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ota فیلجی (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · rkt মাহুত (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · th ควาญ (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · hi महाउत (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · fa فیلبان (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · km ហ្មដំរី (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · es mahout (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · te గజారోహుడు (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · de Mahout (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · mk ма́хаут (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ca cornac (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · km ទ្រមាក់ (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · hu elefánthajcsár (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ml ആനപ്പാപ്പാൻ (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ko 머하웃 (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · pa ਮਹੌਤ (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · he פַּיָּל (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · lt mahoutas (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · my ဆင်ဦးစီး (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · id mahout (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · da mahut (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ur مَہاوَت (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · eu mahout (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · da mahout (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · da elefantfører (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · sv mahout (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · es cornaca (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · te మావటి (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ur مَہَوت (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · vi quản tượng (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · nb elefantfører (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · mkh-mvi quan voi (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ta பணிக்கன் (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ar سَائِسُ فِيل (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · th ควาญช้าง (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · km ហត្ថិគោបកៈ (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · inc-ogu पुंतार (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · kmr fîlvan (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · cmn 象奴 (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · hi महौत (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ro cornac (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ru махау́т (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ta யானைப்பாகன் (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · de Elefantentreiber (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · pl kornak (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · fr cornac (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · de Mahaut (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ml പാപ്പാൻ (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · vi nài (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · bn মাহুত (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · fr mahout (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · gl cornaca (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · fi norsunajaja (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · cmn 象夫 (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ru пого́нщик слоно́в (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · de Mahut (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · da elefantdriver (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · my ယရည်း (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · hi महावत (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver) · ckb فیلەوان (elephant trainer, keeper, and driver)