wallah - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Noun
wallah (plural wallahs)
- (North India) A servant or other person responsible for something, often specified before it, for example kitchen wallah.
- ✤ Kindly take one of my cigarettes, sir. Do you not admire my new silver case, sir? From the boxwallah, two rupees eight annas.1
- (North India, historical) Ellipsis of competition wallah.
- (UK, slang) A guy or bloke.
Adverb
wallah (not comparable)
- (Islam) by God (Allah); may God be my witness. Used in making a solemn oath
Interjection
wallah
- (nonstandard) Alternative form of voilà.
Etymology 1
Either from Hindi -वाला (-vālā, “pertaining to”) or from Hindi वाला (vālā, “person in charge”).
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈwɑːlə/, /ˈwɒlə/
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
- Rhymes: -ɑːlə, -ɒlə
Etymology 2
From Arabic وَٱللّٰه (wal-lāh, literally “by God”).
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈwɑːlɑː/, /wəˈlɑː/, /wəllə/
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
- Rhymes: -ɑː
Etymology 3
A corruption of voilà.
Printed 2026-08-13.
(echo:: @ ⌗)
Footnotes
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1931, George Orwell, A Hanging: ↩