Nakhuda

Nākhudā (Persian: ناخدا) (when also written Nakhodazadeh, Nakhoda, Nakhodeh, Nakhodaei, Nakhooda, and Nacoda) is a term originating from the Persian language literally meaning captain. Derived from nāv boat (from Old Persian) + khudā master, from Middle Persian khutāi a 'master of a native vessel' or 'Lord of the Ship'.

References

http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:637.hobson
Chakravarti, Ranabir (1 January 2000). "Nakhudas and Nauvittakas: Ship-Owning Merchants in the West Coast of India (C. AD 1000-1500)". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 43 (1): 34–64. JSTOR 3632772.
http://iranica.com/articles/v11f4/v11f4019.html
Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (1 January 1992). "Iranians Abroad: Intra-Asian Elite Migration and Early Modern State Formation". The Journal of Asian Studies. 51 (2): 340–363. doi:10.2307/2058032. JSTOR 2058032.
Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World By André Wink