Wallah

 ( Suffixes ) 

Wallah, -walla, -wala, or -vala (Hindi: वाला)( -wali fem. वाली), is a suffix used in a number of Indo-Aryan languages, like Hindi/Urdu, Gujarati, Bengali language or Marathi language. Originating from Sanskrit पाल (pāla) + Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓- (-ka-), it forms an adjectival compound from a noun or an agent noun from a verb.

For example; it may indicate a person involved in some kind of activity, where they come from, or what they wear (topiwala), i.e., habitué.

J. Clancy Clements (1996). 9789027276186, John Benjamins Publishing Company. . ISBN 9789027276186

(1988). 9783447028721, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. . ISBN 9783447028721

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Example uses Examples of such uses include:

• Dabbawala, lunch box deliverer
• ''Dhobi, laundry worker
• Chaiwala, a boy or young man who serves tea
• Dishwalla, satellite TV installer, from "dish" for parabolic antenna
• Rickshawala, a rickshaw driver
• Punkawallah, the servant who keeps the punkah or fan going on hot nights
• Lep wallah, a Carding
• Kabadiwalla, a waste picker or
• Puncture wala or puncher wala, a tyre repairer

In British military jargon of the first half of the 20th century, a "base wallah" is someone employed at a military base, or with a job far behind the front lines.Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London, p.18. There were a number of other words of this type, such as "camel wallah" and "machine-gun wallah", and more. Notes and Queries, 1922, p. 378 "Base wallah" had a derogatory reference for a person who is seldom seen at the front lines during major attacks, pretending to be sick. Notes and Queries, 1922, p. 343

There is a short story "Sanjeev and Robotwallah", by Ian McDonald. There is a character named General Robotwallah in the 2010 novel For the Win by Cory Doctorow. "Robotwallah" refers to the pilot of a mecha.

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Other uses Wala or Vala was also used in Parsi and Dawoodi Bohra surnames, suggesting the derivation from a profession or a place name. For example:

• Amroliwala
• Matthew Amroliwala
• Daruwalla, 'alcohol seller'
• Mithaiwala, sweetseller
• Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala
• Furniturewala:
• Aalia Furniturewala

Wala is also used to indicate a specific object or thing among several:

• chota wala, 'the small one'
• dusra wala, 'the second one'
• agla wala, 'the next one'

These uses of wala should not be confused with the .

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