Origin: Germanic Old English prefix
Begum has 4 different meanings across 2 categories:
a Muslim woman of high rank in India or Pakistan
a high-ranking Muslim woman, especially in India and Pakistan
To daub or cover with gum.
A Muslim honorific for a high-ranking woman, with its origin in India and Pakistan, that has become a surname in the west.
The word comes from Persian, where it originally meant "lady" or "mistress." It is formed by combining the prefix be- with the root gum, which relates to a woman of high rank.