A historical Indian or South Asian military commander or warrior, a rank or title used during the Mughal and colonial periods.
From Persian bahadur (warrior, brave), altered by English speakers into bahawder. The word reflects the Anglo-Indian vocabulary that emerged during British colonial rule in India.
Bahawder is one of dozens of Persian and Arabic military titles that got 'Anglicized' by British colonizers who struggled with Middle Eastern pronunciations—similar to how 'rajah' changed from 'raja' as British tongues adapted to Indian languages.
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