lascar
nounUS /ˈlæskɚ/ · UK /ˈlaskə/
Etymology From Hindustani لشکر / लश्कर (laśkar), from Persian لشکر (laškar). Doublet of askari.
1
Historical A sailor from India or Southeast Asia, especially as serving on a European ship.
- A motley crowd saunters along the streets — Lascars off a P. and O., blond Northmen from a Swedish barque, Japanese from a man-of-war, English sailors, Spaniards, pleasant-looking fellows from a French cruiser, negroes off an American tramp.1919, W. Somerset Maugham, “chapter 47”, in The Moon and Sixpence:
- ...and what foreigner is it, exactly, that Pirate has in mind if it isn't that stateless lascar across his own mirror-glass, that poorest of exiles...1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:
1 more example
- As for the voyage itself, his account of Mauritius, where the ship stopped, saw the appearance of Muslim lascars.2020, Sujit Sivasundaram, Waves Across the South, William Collins, published 2021, page 35:
2
A tent-pitcher; also a type of artilleryman.
3
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genera Pantoporia and Lasippa.