Fellahin

/fɛləˈhiːn/ noun

Definition

An alternative spelling of fellaheen; Egyptian peasants or agricultural workers.

Etymology

A variant romanization of the Arabic plural al-fellāḥīn, reflecting different transliteration conventions used by English-language scholars in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Kelly Says

The different spellings of this word (fellahin, fellaheen, fellani) show how colonial powers struggled to transliterate Arabic—there was no standard until much later, leading to confusion in old texts.

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