Fellaheen

/fɛləˈhiːn/ noun

Definition

The plural form of fellah; Egyptian peasants or agricultural workers, especially traditional subsistence farmers.

Etymology

From Arabic al-fellāḥīn (الفلاحين), the plural form of fellaḥ with the suffix -īn used in Arabic to form masculine plural nouns.

Kelly Says

The term 'fellaheen' was romanticized by 19th-century Western writers, but the reality was grinding poverty and exploitation under colonial rule—language often beautifies what history reveals as brutal.

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