غلام

Arabic

Etymology

From the root غ ل م (ḡ l m). Compare Hebrew עֶלֶם (ʿélem, “a virgin boy”).

Noun

غُلَام • (ḡulām) m (plural غِلْمَان (ḡilmān) or غِلْمَة (ḡilma) or أَغْلِمَة (ʔaḡlima), feminine غُلَامَة (ḡulāma))

  1. a young male human, a boy-child
    Synonyms: صَبِيّ (ṣabiyy), فَتًى (fatan), شَابّ (šābb)
    Coordinate terms: صَبِيَّة (ṣabiyya), فَتَاة (fatāh), شَابَّة (šābba), (archaic) جَارِيَة (jāriya)
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 19:7:
      يَا زَكَرِيَّا إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَامٍ ٱسْمُهُ يَحْيَىٰ
      yā zakariyyā ʔinnā nubašširuka biḡulāmin smuhu yaḥyā
      Zakariyyāh, we bring you the good news of a boy whose name shall be Yaḥyāh.
    • 10th century, Al-Mutanabbi
      فَرُبَّ غُلَامٍ عَلَّمَ الْمَجْدَ نَفْسَهُ كَتَعْلِيمِ سَيْفِ الدَّوْلَةِ الطَّعْنَ وٱلضَّرْبَا
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. a boy-servant; a slave-boy

Usage notes

The feminine of this word is now very rare, being instead replaced by صَبِيَّة (ṣabiyya) or its synonyms.

Declension

Declension of noun غُلَام (ḡulām)
singular basic singular triptote
indefinite definite construct
informal غُلَام
ḡulām 		الْغُلَام
al-ḡulām 		غُلَام
ḡulām
nominative غُلَامٌ
ḡulāmun 		الْغُلَامُ
al-ḡulāmu 		غُلَامُ
ḡulāmu
accusative غُلَامًا
ḡulāman 		الْغُلَامَ
al-ḡulāma 		غُلَامَ
ḡulāma
genitive غُلَامٍ
ḡulāmin 		الْغُلَامِ
al-ḡulāmi 		غُلَامِ
ḡulāmi
dual indefinite definite construct
informal غُلَامَيْن
ḡulāmayn 		الْغُلَامَيْن
al-ḡulāmayn 		غُلَامَيْ
ḡulāmay
nominative غُلَامَانِ
ḡulāmāni 		الْغُلَامَانِ
al-ḡulāmāni 		غُلَامَا
ḡulāmā
accusative غُلَامَيْنِ
ḡulāmayni 		الْغُلَامَيْنِ
al-ḡulāmayni 		غُلَامَيْ
ḡulāmay
genitive غُلَامَيْنِ
ḡulāmayni 		الْغُلَامَيْنِ
al-ḡulāmayni 		غُلَامَيْ
ḡulāmay
plural basic broken plural triptote‎;
broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a)
indefinite definite construct
informal غِلْمَان‎; غِلْمَة‎; أَغْلِمَة
ḡilmān‎; ḡilma‎; ʔaḡlima 		الْغِلْمَان‎; الْغِلْمَة‎; الْأَغْلِمَة
al-ḡilmān‎; al-ḡilma‎; al-ʔaḡlima 		غِلْمَان‎; غِلْمَة‎; أَغْلِمَة
ḡilmān‎; ḡilmat‎; ʔaḡlimat
nominative غِلْمَانٌ‎; غِلْمَةٌ‎; أَغْلِمَةٌ
ḡilmānun‎; ḡilmatun‎; ʔaḡlimatun 		الْغِلْمَانُ‎; الْغِلْمَةُ‎; الْأَغْلِمَةُ
al-ḡilmānu‎; al-ḡilmatu‎; al-ʔaḡlimatu 		غِلْمَانُ‎; غِلْمَةُ‎; أَغْلِمَةُ
ḡilmānu‎; ḡilmatu‎; ʔaḡlimatu
accusative غِلْمَانًا‎; غِلْمَةً‎; أَغْلِمَةً
ḡilmānan‎; ḡilmatan‎; ʔaḡlimatan 		الْغِلْمَانَ‎; الْغِلْمَةَ‎; الْأَغْلِمَةَ
al-ḡilmāna‎; al-ḡilmata‎; al-ʔaḡlimata 		غِلْمَانَ‎; غِلْمَةَ‎; أَغْلِمَةَ
ḡilmāna‎; ḡilmata‎; ʔaḡlimata
genitive غِلْمَانٍ‎; غِلْمَةٍ‎; أَغْلِمَةٍ
ḡilmānin‎; ḡilmatin‎; ʔaḡlimatin 		الْغِلْمَانِ‎; الْغِلْمَةِ‎; الْأَغْلِمَةِ
al-ḡilmāni‎; al-ḡilmati‎; al-ʔaḡlimati 		غِلْمَانِ‎; غِلْمَةِ‎; أَغْلِمَةِ
ḡilmāni‎; ḡilmati‎; ʔaḡlimati

Descendants

  • → Bengali: গোলাম (gōlam)
  • → English: ghulam
  • → Hindi: ग़ुलाम (ġulām)
  • → Northern Kurdish: xulam
  • → Ottoman Turkish: غلام (gulâm)
  • → Persian: غُلام (ġolâm)
  • → Rohingya: gulam
  • → Swahili: ghulamu
  • → Tajik: ғулом (ġulom)
  • → Urdu: غُلام (ġulām)

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic غُلَام (ḡulām).

Pronunciation

 

Readings
Classical reading? ġulām
Dari reading? ġulām
Iranian reading? ġolâm
Tajik reading? ġulom

Noun

غلام • (ġulām / ġolâm) (plural غلامان (ġulāmān / ġolâmân), Tajik spelling ғулом)

  1. servant, slave
    Synonyms: برده (barda / barde), بنده (banda / bande), عبد (abd / abd)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian غلام (ġulām), from Arabic غُلَام (ḡulām). First attested in c. 1503 as Middle Hindi غلام (ġlam /⁠ġulām⁠/).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /ɣʊ.lɑːm/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːm
  • Hyphenation: غُ‧لام

Noun

غُلام • (ġulām) m (formal plural غُلَامَان (ġulāmān), Hindi spelling ग़ुलाम)

  1. slave
  2. servant (of a more pious person)
    Synonym: خادِم (xādim)
  3. (archaic) boy, young man
  4. (card games) knave, jack
  5. (figuratively) an obedient person

Declension

Declension of غلام
singular plural
direct غُلَام (ġulām) غُلَام (ġulām)
oblique غُلَام (ġulām) غُلَاموں (ġulāmõ)
vocative غُلَام (ġulām) غُلَامو (ġulāmo)

See also

Playing cards in Urdu · تاش (tāś) (layout · text)
اِکّا (ikkā) دُکّا (dukkā) تِکّا (tikkā) چَوکا (caukā) پَن٘جا (pañjā) چَھکّا (chakkā) سَتّا (sattā)
اَٹّھا (aṭṭhā) نَہْلا (nahlā) دَہْلا (dahlā) غُلام (ġulām) بیگَم (begam) بادْشاہ (bādśāh) جوکَر (jokar)

References

  1. ^ “غلام”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.

Further reading

  • “غلام”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
  • Fallon, Platts, Qureshi, Shakespear (2024) “غلام”, in Digital Dictionaries of South Asia [Combined Urdu Dictionaries]
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