raiyat

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word raiyat. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word raiyat, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say raiyat in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word raiyat you have here. The definition of the word raiyat will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofraiyat, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Urdu رَعِیَّت (ra'iyat, peasant), from Classical Persian رعیت (ra'iyyat, peasants; population), from Arabic رَعِيَّة (raʕiyya, flock, herd).

Pronunciation

Noun

raiyat (plural raiyats or raiyat)

  1. A peasant or agricultural labourer in South Asia.
    • 1874, Lál Behári Day, Govinda Sámanta, or the history of a Bengal Ráiyat:
      In Ireland Paddy makes riots, in Bengal raiyats make paddy; and in this lies the difference between the paddy of green Bengal and Paddy of the Emerald Isle.
    • 1909, Rudyard Kipling, “The Education of Otis Yeere. Part II.”, in Under the Deodars (The Works of Rudyard Kipling), Edinburgh de Luxe edition, Boston, Mass., London: The Edinburgh Society, →OCLC, page 22:
      They are simply the rank-and-file—the food for fever—sharing with the ryot and the plough-bullock the honor of being the plinth on which the State rests.