how·dah also hou·dah (hou
d
)
n.
A seat, usually fitted with a canopy and railing, placed on the back of an elephant or a camel.
[Urdu haudah, from Arabic hawdaj, litter, sedan chair, from hadaja, to shuffle along, totter; see hdg in Semitic roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
