lascar

/ˈlæskɚ/

Etymology

From Hindustani لشکر / लश्कर (laśkar), from Persian لشکر (laškar). Doublet of askari.

Why this word is great

LASCAR — [Noun] A sailor from India or Southeast Asia, especially one serving on a European ship. From Hindustani لشکر / लश्कر (laśkar), from Persian لشکر (laškar, "army, camp"). Unlike "laskar" (a Malay term for militia) or "lashkar" (a Persian-derived word for a military detachment), "lascar" specifically conjures the colonial-era deckhand—exploited yet resilient, bound by contract and monsoon winds. Picture the chai-stained manifest tallying his wages, the hemp rope burning his palms as the ship heels, the ghostly echo of his prayers swallowed by the roar of the Bombay docks. A century’s labor, paid in pice and silence.

noun

  1. A sailor from India or Southeast Asia, especially as serving on a European ship.“A motley crowd saunters along the streets — Lascars off a P. and O., blond Northmen from a Swedish barque, Japanese from a man-of-war, English sailors, Spaniards, pleasant-looking fellows from a French cruiser, negroes off an American tramp.”
  2. A tent-pitcher; also a type of artilleryman.
  3. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genera Pantoporia and Lasippa.