panchayat

noun

pan·​cha·​yat

variants or less commonly panchayet or punchayet

(ˌ)pənˈchäyət,

-chīət

plural -s

1

: a village council in India:

a

: a former group of five influential older men acknowledged by the community as its governing body

b

: an elective council of about five members organized in the republic of India as an organ of village self-government

2

: a Parsi council of six dasturs and ten mobeds regulating secular affairs

Word History

Etymology

Hindi pañcāyat, from Sanskrit pañca five

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