in India under British rule, an administrative district
Word origin
Hindi ḍil‘ < Ar dilaʿ, a rib, side; akin to Akkadian ṣēlu, rib
zillah in American English
(ˈzɪlə)
noun
(in British India)
any of the districts into which a province was divided for administrative purposes
Word origin
[1790–1800; ‹ Hindi zila ‹ Pers ẓilaʻ ‹ Ar ḍilʻ part]This word is first recorded in the period 1790–1800. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: backhanded, methodology, modular, peanut, standby