khalasin.
/kəˈlasi/, U.S. /kəˈlæsi/, /kəˈlɑsi/α. 1700s khelasse, 1800s calassie, 1800s classy, 1800s– khalasi, 1800s– khalassy, 1900s kalassi, 1900s– kalasi, 1900s– khalassi, 1900s– khallasi.
β. 1700s–1800s clashy, 1800s clashee, 1800s kalashy, 1800s khalishee, 1800s–1900s kalashee, 1900s– kalashi Brit. /kəˈlaʃi/, U.S. /kəˈlæʃi/, /kəˈlɑʃi/.
Chiefly South Asian and in South Asian contexts (originally Anglo-Indian).
1. A South Asian or South-east Asian sailor or deck-hand. Cf. lascar n. 1. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > types of sailor > [noun] > from specific part of world
lascar1625
Jockc1641
lascari1712
khalasi1783
galiongee1813
Flushinger1865
cassab?1881
gob1910
Limey1918
1783 F. Gladwin tr. A. Allâmî Ayeen Akbery I. ii. 291 The Tundeil is the chief of the Khelasses, or sailors.
1816 Mrs. Sherwood Ayah & Lady 58 He instantly called the clashees, and bade them seize the boy.
1866 Leeds Times 15 Dec. 2/5 The Clashies could not be induced to give up the dragoon helmets, but continued to wear them even during the worst of the typhoon.
1907 M. Roberts Flying Cloud v. 55 The Serang cried out again, and some of the Khalasis sprang aloft with their bare feet.
1963 P. J. Abraham Last Hours 9 I noticed some of the seamen, or Khalassis, in their blue dungaree uniforms.
2009 Indian Lit. 249 62 It was then the sea called him and he found himself sailing as a khalasi on SS Rizvani carrying Haj pilgrims to Jeddah via the Red Sea.
2. Now chiefly Indian English. A (usually local or indigenous) worker or labourer employed to do any of various (typically manual) tasks, esp. in an auxiliary or low-status role. In early use: esp. a person responsible for putting up or taking down tents (cf. lascar n. 2); (now frequently) a person who assists the driver of a bus, heavy goods vehicle, etc.
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1785 Tippoo's Lett. 171 A hundred Clashies have been sent to you from the Presence. [Note] Men employed about tents, &c.
1824 R. Heber Jrnl. 30 Sept. in Narr. Journey Upper Provinces India (1828) I. xiv. 343 If the tents got dry, the ‘clashees’ (tent-pitchers) again allowed that we might proceed in the morning prosperously.
1897 Daily News 9 July 3/5 There are a number of railway khalasis (porters) present to open locked compartments, assist passengers to alight, &c.
1909 Imperial Gazetteer India (new ed.) IV. xv. 495 The native khalasi who carried the instrument must have ascended to that altitude with a load of 18 lb. on his back.
1957 Times of India 22 June 7/2 A railway yard Khalasi..was walking along the railway track..when he saw and unmanned shunting engine heading for the level-crossing gate near the station.
2017 Telegraph (India) (Nexis) 8 Dec. The khalasi of a bus run by Kairali School, Dhurwa, was found to be drunk.
Compounds
khalasi watch n. Nautical (now historical) a method of organising the watches of a ship's company which requires all crew members to be ready to be called at any time, chiefly used in difficult circumstances.Apparently so called because watches were often organized this way on boats crewed by khalasis (sense 1).
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1899 J. Conrad Lord Jim in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 828/1 They kept Kalashee watch in that ship, all hands sleeping through the night, and only the reliefs of quartermasters and look-out men being called.
1938 Blackwood's Mag. May 583/1 The crew were put on ‘Khalasi watch’, all hands on deck night and day, eating and sleeping in the open, ready for instant work whenever a cat's-paw of wind gave a chance to..snatch a few mile's headway.
2011 L. Fink Sweatshops at Sea Notes 231 Mandating a presence on deck at night, the Kalashi watch required the fuller crew to be instantly aroused from sleep in the event of rough seas.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2022).
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