What does almirah mean?
An almirah is a large, upright cupboard, especially one used to store clothes. In South Asian English it is an everyday household term comparable to wardrobe; elsewhere, including British English, it may sound regional or old-fashioned. A traditional almirah is often freestanding, made of wood or metal, and may have doors, shelves, drawers, and sometimes a mirror. The word does not denote the entire room in which such furniture stands, and it is not ordinarily used for small kitchen or bathroom storage. Outside South Asia it is uncommon in standard American English. Almirah is interesting as a linguistic import: English borrowed it from Hindi and Urdu during the period of British India, and those forms reflect an ultimately Arabic source. The noun normally takes a regular plural in -s, and its final syllable is unstressed.
nounA large, upright cupboard or wardrobe, especially one used for storing clothes.
- A large, upright cupboard or wardrobe, typically used for storing clothes.
"She opened the carved wooden almirah and found her grandmother's sari folded inside."
"We found the old winter coats at the back of the almirah."
"The caretaker locked the almirah before the inspection."
The plural is formed regularly by adding -s.
"The two almirahs stood on either side of the bedroom window."
A whole closet in one word: almirah entered English from Hindi and Urdu and still carries the distinctly South Asian sound of home storage.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does almirah come from?
The English word entered British Indian English in the 19th century from Hindi अल्मारी (almārī), a form also current in Urdu. The Hindi and Urdu words reflect an ultimately Arabic source. The established English sense developed as a large cupboard, especially for clothes, and almirah became the usual Anglicized spelling.
How almirah is actually used
The term is ordinary household vocabulary in South Asian English and is also used in British English, but it is not part of standard American usage.