aga

noun

variants or less commonly agha

ˈä-gə,

ˈa-

plural -s

often capitalized

: a man of authority who bears a title of respect: such as

a

: a military or civil officer in the Ottoman Empire

a vast body of dragoons … under … their great aga

—Jonathan Swift

b

: a Turkish chief

the khans … and agas … are probably the oldest landed aristocracy of the world

—Harold Lamb

c

: a religious leader

the Aga Khan … claims descent from Fatima

—H. G. Rawlinson

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Ottoman Turkish ağa "lord, master, respected man (in titles)," going back to Medieval Turkic, literally, "older brother," borrowed from Mongolian (Uigur-script) aqa, (Arabic-script) āqā "older brother"

First Known Use

1524, in the meaning defined above

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