Etymology Ultimately from Classical Persian بیگم (bēgum).
1
An honorific title from Central and South Asia, often used by leading women in society.
begum
noun
/ˈbeɪɡəm/ · /ˈbɛɡəm/
Etymology From Classical Persian بیگم (bēgum), from East Turkic begüm, from beg (a title of nobility in Iran, Central Asia and South Asia) + -um (feminine suffix for titles of nobility). Compare Classical Persian خانم (xānum).
1
a high-ranking Muslim woman, especially in South Asia
He went to India with his capital, and there, according to a wild legend in our family, he was once seen riding on an elephant, in company with a Baboon; but I think it must have been a Baboo—or a Begum.1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 1, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:
She was the daughter of an English officer, who having fallen in love with an Indian Begum gave up home, country, and friends, and married her.1872, James De Mille, The Cryptogram, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2009:
1 more example
toxic politics dominated by the bitter infighting of the “battling begums” (the widow and daughter of former presidents, who lead the two main parties).2012, “Bangladesh: Out of the basket”, in The Economist:
2
the form of address for such a woman
It was a known fact that an envoy from an Indian Prince, a Colonel Altamont, the Nawaub of Lucknow’s prime favourite, an extraordinary man, who had, it was said, embraced Mahometanism, and undergone a thousand wild and perilous adventures was at present in this country, trying to negotiate with the Begum Clavering, the sale of the Nawaub’s celebrated nose-ring diamond, ‘the light of the Dewan.’1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 45, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC: