begar means A system of forced labour in parts of India. It carries an Arena rating of 1429, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, begar ranks #538 of 13,218 for Most Incisive Words, #945 of 13,218 for Scariest Words, #2,666 of 13,218 for Most Exacting Words, #3,500 of 13,218 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
Why “begar” is a great word
Begar is a system of forced, unpaid labor exacted by local authorities or landowners. From Hindi बेगार (begār, 'forced labor'), from Classical Persian بیگار (bē-gār, literally 'without pay'). Unlike serfdom, a hereditary state of bondage, or corvée, a feudal levy for public works, begar was the arbitrary, immediate seizure of a person's time. It was the official's cart needing pulled, the landholder's field requiring harvest, and the local fortification built stone by resentful stone—the quiet violence of an ordinary day commandeered, leaving only exhaustion as its wage.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindi बेगार (begār, “forced labor”), from Classical Persian بیگار (bē-gār).
noun
- A system of forced labour in parts of India.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- corvee 85% match — Unpaid labor required by a feudal lord. vs begar →
- peshgi 82% match — A form of debt bondage where an advance loan by the employer is to be repaid by bonded labour vs begar →
- durbar 80% match — A ceremonial gathering held by a ruler in India. vs begar →
- katorga 80% match — A tsarist or Soviet labour camp. vs begar →
- villeinage 80% match — The state of being a villein. vs begar →
- bandh 80% match — A general strike, shutdown, or other form of protest used in South Asia in which a substantial portion of the population stays home and does not report to work. vs begar →
- azadi 80% match — Freedom, independence. vs begar →
- casteism 79% match — Discrimination based on a person's caste. vs begar →