a pair of loose-fitting trousers tapering to a narrow fit around the ankles, worn in the Indian subcontinent, often with a kameez (called a shalwar kameez)
Word origin
from Urdu and Persian shalwār
shalwar in American English
(ˈʃʌlwɑːr)
noun
(used with a pl. v.)
loose, pajamalike trousers worn by both men and women in India and southeast Asia
Also: shulwar
Word origin
[1880–85; ‹ Hindi ‹ Pers shalwār]This word is first recorded in the period 1880–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Chief of Staff, automatism, barnstorm, quotation mark, regionalism
Examples of 'shalwar' in a sentence
shalwar
Just sandals, shalwar kameez, a waistcoat and a thin cloak.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He is sitting crosslegged on a floor in a grey, loose-fitting shalwar kameez.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
One is clad in jeans and sandals, the other in a shalwar kameez, a traditional outfit.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He, too, had a long beard and wore a shalwar kameez plus a big, loose turban of white silk.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The soldiers stopped the motorcyclists, asked them to lift their shalwar kameez and body-searched them before letting them go.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It offers sparkly sandals and saris and shalwar kameez, and jeans and mobile phones, too, though sadly no real rickshaw.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Word lists with
shalwar
articles of clothing, articles of clothing, trousers