abkar

noun

ab·​kar

ˈäbˌkär

plural -s

India

: a wine seller : distiller

also : one whose trade is subject to abkari tax

Word History

Etymology

Persian ābkār, from āb "water, liquid" (from Old Persian āpi-) + -kār "doer" (from Middle Persian); akin to Avestan āfsh (accusative singular āpəm) "water," Sanskrit ap-, Lithuanian ùpė, Old Prussian ape "river," Greek Apia "Peloponnesus" and to Sanskrit kāra "doing"

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

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