Zamindar

zah-min-dar

/ˈzɑːmɪndɑːr/

Noun

Meaning

A zamindar is a historical landowner or landlord in the Indian subcontinent who held the right to collect land revenue from peasants during the Mughal era and British colonial rule.
Zamindars acted as intermediaries between the state and cultivators, often exercising administrative, judicial, and economic authority over their estates.

Examples

During British rule, the zamindar system significantly influenced rural land ownership in India.
The zamindar collected rent from farmers and paid a fixed revenue to the colonial government.
Many zamindars owned vast estates but did not directly cultivate the land.
Land reforms after independence aimed to abolish the zamindari system.
Historically, a zamindar held both economic power and social influence in villages.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms	Antonyms
Landlord Feudal lord Estate holder Revenue collector Landowner	Tenant Peasant Sharecropper Cultivator Farmer

Word Forms

Zamindari (noun) – the system or practice of zamindars
Zamindars (plural noun)
Zamindari system (compound noun)

Origin / Etymology

The word zamindar comes from Persian, derived from zamin meaning “land” and dar meaning “holder” or “possessor.” The term was widely used during the Mughal Empire and later institutionalized by the British colonial administration under the Permanent Settlement of 1793.

Grammar Information

Countable noun
Plural form: zamindars
Often used with definite articles in historical contexts (e.g., the zamindars of Bengal)
Commonly appears in academic, legal, and historical texts

Translations

Hindi: ज़मींदार (Zamindār)
Urdu: زمیندار
Bengali: জমিদার
Tamil: ஜமீந்தார்
Telugu: జమీందార్
Arabic: مالك الأرض الإقطاعي
French: propriétaire terrien féodal

Idioms & Phrases

Zamindari system – a land revenue system where zamindars collected taxes on behalf of the state
Abolition of zamindari – legal reforms ending feudal land ownership
Zamindari rights – privileges and land ownership claims of zamindars