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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

wasta en · NOUN

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic وَاسِطَة (wāsiṭa).

Meanings

  1. (qualifier:Arab society; often italicized; Arab society; often italicized) Intercession or mediation by people on behalf of others to whom they are connected by friendship or blood
    • The number of those traveling to the US during summer may definitely have gone down, but if one can hook onto a wasta, one could get into the queue of applicants without having to get up early in the morning. 2003 June 15, Syed Rashid Husain, “'Wasta' at US Embassy”, in Arab News:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
wastas Number=Plur lexicographic

Synonyms

nepotism · cronyism · connections