meaning of ship's name Quedagh

[Thrasher, Allen]

I have been asked for the proper pronunciation of the name of the ship Quedagh Merchant < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quedagh_Merchant >, an Indian ship , owned by a man named Coirgi and hired by a group of Armenian merchants.  As the Wiki article elaborates, it was taken by the famous Scottish privateer William Kidd who eventually, in 1701, was hanged for piracy on account of it.  "Quedagh" means nothing in any Indian language I can think of, whether pronounced something like Kwedagh or Kyudagh; could it be Persian?  I find it hard to make anything out of Coirgi either. "Quedagh" is not in Hobson-Jobson.  Any suggestions appreciated.

Allen


Allen W. Thrasher, Ph.D.
Senior Reference Librarian and Team Coordinator
South Asia Team
Asian Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4810
USA
tel. 202-707-3732
fax 202-707-1724
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Library of Congress.