An Oriental pipe for smoking, particularly associated with Indian and Persian cultures; also called a hookah or water pipe.
From Hindi/Urdu galiyān or from Persian qaliān. The word traveled through trade routes and European colonial contact with Asia, and became known through accounts of Oriental customs.
Caleans became status symbols in 17th-century European court paintings—exotic imports that showed a nobleman's wealth and cosmopolitan tastes, even though many Europeans initially found the practice strange and mysterious!
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