Late 16th century; earliest use found in Nicholas Lichefield (fl. 1582). From Portuguese naire from Malayalam nāyar members of ruling caste, soldiers in general, plural of nāyaṉ leader from Sanskrit nāya from nī- to lead. The origin of the some forms in -o is unclear; the earliest example is immediately after Dutch Nayros (plural), which may be from a back-formation (perhaps in Portuguese) based on Italian naeri.