Ottoman Turkish

Alternative forms

• (provincial) آقا ‎(aka)

Noun

آغا • ‎(ağa)

1. lord, master
2. eldest brother
3. eldest paternal uncle
4. head of household
5. head male servant
6. agha, an honorific title of address; Mr., sir
7. agha, a title of various military and civil officers

Descendants

• Turkish: ağa
• → Armenian: աղա ‎(ała), Աղասի ‎(Ałasi)

Persian

Etymology

From Turkic. Compare Turkish ağa.

Pronunciation

• (Iranian Persian) IPA^(key): [ɒːˈɣɒː]
• Homophones: آقا

Noun

آغا • ‎(âğâ)

1. Mrs.; Lady; Madam
2. eunuch
3. (informal or misspelled) Mr.
4. (informal or misspelled) sir, gentleman
5. agha, aga

Usage notes

Persian does not have grammatical gender, but in formal writing, آغا ‎(âğâ) is considered the semantically feminine form of the homophone آقا ‎(âqâ, “Mr., sir”).

Urdu

Etymology

From Persian آغا ‎(âqâ), from Turkic. Compare Turkish ağa.

Alternative forms

• آقا

Noun

آغا • ‎(āġā) m ‎(Hindi spelling आग़ा)

1. Mr.
2. sir, gentleman
3. master
4. owner
5. lord