navbat

Navbat is a noun used in Uzbek, Tajik and other Turkic languages to denote a person’s place in a queue or the turn to receive a service. It can also refer to an assigned time or appointment for performing an action, such as visiting a government office or a healthcare provider.

Etymology: The word comes from Persian navbat (نوبت), meaning turn, order or sequence. Related forms appear across Persian-influenced languages and in Central Asian speech, reflecting historical language exchange in the region.

Usage: In everyday life, people form a navbat to wait for tickets, payments, or assistance. In banks, clinics and government offices, staff typically call customers in their navbat order or by number. The term is also used for appointment times, for example a doctor’s navbat or a service appointment, indicating when a person is scheduled to be attended to.

Regional notes: Navbat is common in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and surrounding areas where Uzbek and Tajik are spoken, and is understood in Dari-speaking communities as well. The concept exists in many languages as a generic word for queue or appointment.

See also: Queue, line (queue management), appointment.