noun
or zemin·dar zə|mēn|där, |zamə̇n-, |zemə̇n-, |zämə̇n-
( -s )
Etymology: Hindi zamīndār, from Persian, from zamīn land + -dār holder; akin to Sanskrit kṣam earth, ground — more at humble , bhumidar
1. : a collector of revenues from the cultivators of the land of a specified district for the government of India during the period of Muslim rule
2. : a feudatory under the British government of India having rights of private property in a large amount of land by paying to the government a fixed substantial revenue raised from the cultivators
3. : an absentee landlord usually acting as an intermediary between the cultivators and the government in the period after Indian independence