mahout

Noun

the driver and keeper of an elephant
An elephant trainer, keeper, and driver.

Verb

To drive (an elephant or elephants).
To drive elephants.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*méǵh₂s
The noun is borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi महौत (mahaut)/Urdu مَہَوت (mahaut)), महाउत (mahāut), variants of महावत (mahāvat)/مَہاوَت (mahāvat), from Sanskrit महामात्र (mahāmātra, “elephant keeper; high official; king’s minister”), from महा (mahā, “great”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”)) + मात्र (mātra, “measure; quantity”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

mahawat, oozie

Scrabble Score: 11

mahout is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
mahout is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
mahout is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

mahout is a valid Words With Friends word