dragoman

dragoman, official interpreter in countries where Arabic, Turkish, and Persian are spoken. Originally the term applied to any intermediary between Europeans and Middle Easterners, whether as a hotel tout or as a traveller’s guide, but there developed the official dragomans of foreign ministries and embassies, whose functions at one time included the conduct of important political negotiations. In the latter sense the dragoman has, essentially, ceased to exist, especially since the passing of the Ottoman...