kalgi

kalgi (countable and uncountable, plural kalgis)

The herons of Kashmir were the main source of supply of feathers which were in great demand for plumes (Kalgis) worn by the Sikh Ministers, Officers of high ranks and other men of importance.

1984, C. Baron V. Hugel, Kashmir Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, page 64:

But on turban they painted peacock feathers in place of kalgi and sometimes half bloomed lotus with all the decoration of jewellery and pearls.

1999, Jiwan Sodhi, A Study of Bundi School of Painting, page 92:

[…] Singh during the founding of the Khalsa in 1699 show him dressed like royalty of the times: a round turban with a plume or kalgi, a cummerbund (kamar kassa), carrying a silver arrow, stirring the Amrit with a double-edged sword.

Ranjit Singh is seen in this image wearing a highly decorated turban with three kalgis or plumes and several different jewels and ornaments.

2019, Amit Amin, Naroop Jhooti, Turbans and Tales: Portraits of Contemporary Sikh Identity, page 12:

(India) A black heron feather that is worn on a turban as a symbol of nobility.

When the question of kalgi and its whereabouts arose, Archer candidly stated that he could not find any kalgi with Lady Broun Lindsay , a descendant of Lord Dalhousie from whom the weapons of Guru Gobind Singh were acquired and nor was it in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

1986, Mohinder Singh Randhawa, Indian Paintings: Exploration, Research, and Publications, page 253:

Shah Jahan's aesthetics transformed the heron's feather into the extravagantly jewelled kalgi.

2001, Usha Ramamrutham Bala Krishnan, Meera Sushil Kumar, Bharath Ramamrutham, Indian Jewellery: Dance of the Peacock, page 219:

An embassy to the governor of the French settlement at Isle de France (Mauritius) in 1798 took kalgis and sarpeches' (turban ornaments) , jewelled rings and earrings described as 'the invention of the khodadad sarkar' ( the 'God-Given Ruler, or Overseer' ).

2009, Susan Stronge, Tipu's Tigers, page 18:

'Please, with your own hands, Mai ji, give us the kalgi of the Sarkar, it shall adorn the Kanwar's head, it shall be a blessing for his life, a charm for his rule.' 'There is nothing in the kalgi,' said the angry Rani, 'it is all in the will of the Almighty.'

In some cases, before leaving the house his sister might have adorned his turban with a kalgi ( draped beads with a central decoration), but again this is cultural and not religious, and must be removed before his bride joins him.

2011, Akasha Lonsdale, Simple Guide to Attending Sikh Ceremonies:

Only Guru Sahib is our sovereign and we thus do not wear a kalgi as we are His servants.

2020, Harjinder Singh, Sukha Singh, Jaskeerth Singh, Sikh Code of Conduct, page 55:

(India) An ornament worn on the front of a turban as a symbol of status.


katchung

katchung seeds; oil of katchung

(India) Synonym of groundnut (“Arachis hypogaea”)


adjiger

Python molurus
Python molurus#Translingual

(India) A snake of species Python molurus.


vivrti

(India) A legal commentary or exposition.


rowdy-sheeter

From "rowdy sheet", the name given to charge sheets in the British Raj (comparable to "rap sheet" in American English).


jhool

(India) The saddlecloth, housings or trappings for an elephant, horse, or other domesticated animal.


yaasa

It’s official! Telangana yaasa, which was for long oppressed and ridiculed, finally gets it due with the mainstream print, radio and TV using it to connect with its readers and audience.

2016 February 20, “Auv Malla! Telangana Dialect Triumphs Finally”, in The New Indian Express:

The actor, who took six months of prep to master the rural Telangana dialect of the 80s for Dorasaani, had to quickly unlearn the same and pick up the 'Guntur yaasa'.

2019 October 12, “Anand picks up Guntur slang to play a middle class Andhra abbayi next”, in Times of India:

Many have already described Palasa 1978 as the first ever Srikakulam based Telugu feature, with its yaasa, folk songs, places etc.

2020 March 15, “Dalitality in Palasa 1978: What Telugu Cinema Waited a Century to Say”, in The Citizen, archived from the original on 2020-12-03:

(India) a regional dialect or accent of Telugu.


vilayati

(India) A European foreigner, especially an Englishman


malley

[…] not one-third of the work was done under the direction of the Garden Purvoe and Head Malley only, […]

1843, Transactions of the Agri-horticultural Society of Western India, page 2:

[…] a Gora-walla, or groom for every horse, and, according to the extent of the garden, from one to six Malleys, or gardeners.

1852, The Illustrated Exhibitor and Magazine of Art, volume 1, page 310:


purvoe

[…] and there would be various objections to trusting a native with the purport of such communications, even where some of the baboos, sircars, purvoes, and others of that genus, can converse with sufficient comprehensiveness in English […]

1845, Joachim Hayward Stocqueler, The Hand-book of India, page 219:


zilla

(India) A subdivision of a province or state


zilladar

(India) The administrative official of a zilla


ghurry

Borrowed from Hindi घड़ी (ghaṛī) or Urdu گھڑی (ghaṛī).

(Anglo-Indian) An hour, or some indefinite period of time.


ghurry

(historical, India) Alternative form of gurry (“a small fort”)


rice bag

Ricebag Poperverts who sip blood of Jessus should be the last one to mock bhakts :)))

(India, religious slur, ethnic slur) A Christian, especially one who has just embraced Christianity.


puncture-wallah

[…] by the simple ploy of knocking on the door of his unsuspecting friend just when he was about to doze off for the post-prandial siesta, soliciting a paltry half-rupee to pay the puncture-wallah.

1993, Sainik Samachar, volume 40, page 11:

There are plenty of puncture-wallahs in all towns and villages who will patch tubes for a couple of rupees, so chances are you won't have to fix a puncture yourself anyway.

1996, Michelle Coxall, Paul Greenway, Indian Himalaya, page 164:

Luckily, if you get a flat tyre, puncture-wallahs can be found almost everywhere.

2003, David Abram, The Rough Guide to South India, page 42:

(India) A person who repairs punctured tyres.


dishoom

At one point came the statutory "dishoom" routine with villain Shatru . What could have quite easily been yet another boring and predictable slambang-pow was suddenly transformed into[…]

The fans thronging the theatres got the full value for the pains taken to reach there as the films were full of authentic dishoom-dishoom shots.

1995, K. Naresh Kumar, Indian Cinema: Ebbs and Tides:

I'm really glad that I've moved beyond the dishoom-dishoom.

(India) onomatopoeic representation of the sound of a punch or blow.


mazdur

(India) Alternative form of mazdoor (“a laborer”)


LIC

Life Insurance Corporation
w:Life Insurance Corporation

(India) Abbreviation of Life Insurance Corporation.


questionwise

(India) In terms of or by means of questions.


valleywise

The Bhotia population is primarily seggregated^([sic]) valleywise; each valley-based group exhibits apparent customary characterstics^([sic]) which, in effect, help to register these valleys as being unique social constituencies […]

1981, Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf, Asian Highland Societies in Anthropological Perspective, page 255:


gora complex

(India, Pakistan, ethnic slur) An inferiority complex of South Asians with respect to white people.


aeroplane mode

en-noun

aeroplane mode (countable and uncountable, plural aeroplane modes)

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Canada, South Africa, Malaysia) Alternative form of airplane mode


Gandhigiri

/ɡɑːndiˈɡɪɹi/

/ɡɑndiˈɡɪɹi/

Borrowed from Bombay Hindi गांधीगिरी (gāndhīgirī), from Hindi गांधी (gāndhī) (the surname of the Indian lawyer and anti-colonial nationalist Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who used non-violent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule) + -गिरी (-girī, “suffix meaning ‘the act of; doing’”). The Hindi word was coined in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai (Keep Going, Munna Bhai, 2006), in which it was used by the lead character who is a gangster in contrast to dadagiri (“gang rule; intimidating behaviour”).

"Gandhigiri showed us a way of judging a person's character and this is a tip [I] have been using in office and social gatherings ever since I saw the movie," Shweta [Polanki] says. […] "My impressions of Gandhi have changed post-Gandhigiri. Though I may not implement all that is said in the precise way it was preached by Gandhi, but the message is there at the back of my mind," says Archana Satnani, a bank executive.

2006 September 26, Mridula Chunduri, “Gandhigiri, a cool way to live”, in The Times of India, Mumbai, Maharashtra: The Times Group, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-04-24:

Politicians in the state can keep their hair on. They may soon face Gandhigiri with a startling twist. Maharashtra's barber community has decided not to give them a haircut or a shave because they have not done anything about the barbers' demand for scheduled caste status.

2008 August 27, “Nagpur barbers split hair over SC [scheduled caste] status”, in The Times of India, Mumbai, Maharashtra: The Times Group, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-05-02:

Day-long gram sabhas, hoardings to name and shame those who do not use toilets and even Gandhigiri a la Munnabhai to present flowers to those unwilling to mend their ways have worked for Pune district's Mulshi taluka, the first block in the district to completely shun the practice of open defecation.

2015 May 27, Nisha Nambiar, “Mulshi becomes first taluka in Pune to shun open defecation”, in The Indian Express, Mumbai, Maharashtra: Indian Express, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-08-19:

In fact, during one of the community meetings regarding CBMA, it came to light that they were not even aware of the working hours of the Anganwadi! […] The local monitoring committee members decided to tackle this in a unique manner, by adopting a peaceful Gandhigiri approach. All they did was that one of them turned up every day when the Anganwadi opened, equipped with a register to note the time of opening of the Anganwadi and the reason for the delay. […] [F]inally the ploy worked and the AWW started coming to the Anganwadi punctually, providing services for the entire required period.

2017, Shweta Marathe, Abhay Shukla, “When People Wake Up the Anganwadi—Community Monitoring and Action in Maharashtra is Making Child Nutrition Services Accountable and Effective”, in Devaki Nambiar, Arundati Muralidharan, editors, The Social Determinants of Health in India: Concepts, Processes, and Indicators, Singapore: Springer Nature, →DOI, →ISBN, page 181:

[page 12] Gandhigiri means … to make someone realize their mistake with love and affection so that they can do the right thing […] [page 13] We will win this battle with Gandhigiri […] Yes, even I was about to say the same thing

2020, Saurabh Agarwal, Dabung Girl & Children’s Revolution: Superhero Comic Book for Kids, Mumbai, Maharashtra: Deeper Learning Innovations, →ISBN, pages 12 and 13:

The mapping, Gandhigiri, and follow-up processes within CLNOB are a form of participatory monitoring whereby community and village members themselves identify the various barriers to sustained toilet use. The Nigrani Samiti – a vigilance committee formed during the mapping process – consisted of village and community members who practise Gandhigiri. They routinely followed up and visited households to encourage them to sustain safe sanitation practices through affirmative, encouraging conversations.

2021 July, R. Iyer, J. P. Shukla, A. Verma, “Community Leave No One Behind: Lessons from a Pilot”, in Sanitation Learning Hub Learning Brief, number 10, Brighton, East Sussex: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, →DOI, →ISBN, archived from the original on 2022-10-02, page 4, column 1:

(India) The practice of Gandhism (“the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, encompassing tenets such as non-violent activism”), often expressed through unorthodox forms of activism such as depositing flowers or planting trees.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai
Mahatma Gandhi
Palgrave Macmillan

গান্ধীগিৰি

practice of Gandhism, often expressed through unorthodox forms of activism


inam

(India, historical) The grant or gift of lands bestowed by the British Raj on an inamdar.


current shock

Due to the current shock they suffered burn injuries and immediately the school authorities shifted the four children to a hospital in an autorickshaw.

2019 August 10, Srinath Vudali, “Hyderabad: Four school students injured after suffering electric shock”, in The Times of India:

The patient feels like an insect is flying across his/her body from the top of his/her head to leg like a current shock.

2021 March 17, Anushree Madhavan, “The migraine mandate”, in The New Indian Express:


aratdar

(India) A person who owns or runs a warehouse


domestic inquiry

domestic inquiry (plural domestic inquiries)

(India, Malaysia, labour law) A formalized procedure on the part of the employer to verify allegations of misconduct before dismissing an employee or imposing any penalty or censure.

disciplinary inquiry

in cases regarding government servants, or in South Africa


punarnava

(India) The flowering plant Boerhavia diffusa.


kanagi

(India) A bag for wheat or seeds, made from plant materials.


externment

The Court also observed that the East Punjab Public Safety Act, 1949, did not authorise the Provincial Government to order the externment from the Province of a person ordinarily residing in the Province, but only the outsiders.

1953, The Indian Journal of Political Science, volumes 14-15, page 112:

We should note an argument advanced in favour of externments for unlimited time.

1967, The All-Pakistan Legal Decisions, Vol. 10, Part 4, p. 115:

An externment of a person is a harsh punishment on him and calls for procedural safeguards against the abuse of power by the authorities.

1983, D. C. Pandey, Habitual Offenders and the Law, page 31:

(India) Exile; banishment, as a sentence for crime.


bhang lassi

bhang lassi (countable and uncountable, plural bhang lassis)

(India) A lassi to which a preparation of marijuana has been added.


bahisti

(India, historical) A water carrier (person who carries water).


bakula

Mimusops elengi
Mimusops elengi#Translingual


jutka

He saw a jutka coming in his direction, the horse limping along under the weight of the carriage.

2002, R. K. Narayan, The World of Malgudi, page 62:


Ghoti

(India) A Bengali who originates from western Bengal.


POK

(India) Initialism of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The disputed region of Azad Kashmir under Pakistani control, the term also applies to the nearby territory of Gilgit-Baltistan.


librandu

(India, politics, derogatory, vulgar) A liberal, a leftist.

(India, derogatory, politics, slang) An ardent left-wing netizen, especially an atheist or one who supports globalism.

(India, derogatory, politics, slang) An ardent supporter of the Indian National Congress or its leader Rahul Gandhi.


rashtravadi

Borrowed from Hindi राष्ट्रवादी (rāṣṭravādī).

bor+

The Hindu rashtravadis should take lessons from the fate of Pakistan which due to the stupidity of its leaders lost its eastern wing and remains united with great difficulty and repression.

1991, Islamic Perspective: Volume 7, Issue 2, Bombay: Institute of Islamic Studies, page 440:

Attempts to ‘unify’ the Hindus into being Indian rashtravadis are bound to produce similarly disastrous results, as we can see from the continuous ethnic strife in Pakistan.

1998, Madhu Kishwar, Religion at the service of nationalism and other essays, Delhi: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 274, →ISBN:

The Congress-led UPA government has interpreted the electoral verdict of Lok Sabha elections of May 2004 as a defeat of religion-based politics of Hindu Rashtravadis and the victory of the secular political formations.

2006, Chandra Prakash Bhambhri, Sonia in Power: UPA Government, 2004-2006, Delhi: Shipra, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 187, →ISBN:

(chiefly India) A nationalist, especially a Hindutvist or supporter of Hindutva.


gundam

There are also choultries and holy gundams. They are Rama-gundam in which the water is tasty and healthy even though it is green in colour; Palagundam, the water of which is pure and as white as milk; Ginnegundam , in which the[…]

1962, India. Office of the Registrar General, Census of India, 1961: Andhra Pradesh:

Many sacred bathing ghats and gundams are not equally used by all the pilgrims. In some of the gundams like Mallikka-gundam, Manoharagundam, Rudhiragundam, the sacred bathing is strictly prohibited by the temple[…]

1991, Makhan Jha, Social Anthropology of Pilgrimage, South Asia Books:

(India) A low-lying depression or basin in which water pools.


cadamba

(India) Alternative form of kadam (“tropical tree”)


skybook

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-skybook.wav

From sky + book. Also Calque of Urdu آسمانی کتاب (asmānī kitāb, “heavenly book”), a popular term used in Pakistan for the Quran.
Referring to the belief that the Quran was first revealed by an angel to Muhammad, a prophet in Islam, so it is considered as a book from Heaven.

calque

(India, Internet slang, derogatory, offensive, Islam, religious slur) the Qur'an.

(India, Internet slang, derogatory, offensive, Christianity, religious slur, less often by extension) the Bible.


namazi

From Urdu نماز (namāz), Urdu نمازی (namāzī), and their source, Persian نماز (namâz).

(India, Pakistan, Islam) A devout Muslim.

(India, Pakistan, Islam, Internet slang, derogatory) A Muslim, especially a bigot or a religious extremist.


jajman

(India) A landowner or patron in the jajmani system.


jajmani

(India, historical) An economic system in which lower castes performed various functions for upper castes and received grain or other goods in return.


uparna

(India) A long cloth worn over the shoulder.


Jaichand

From Jaichand, Hindi variant of Sanskrit Jayachandra, a Gahadavala king whose rule immediately preceded the Ghurid Muslim conquest of much of India, and who was unfairly accused in the poem Prithviraj Raso of conspiring with the Ghurids against India in order to defeat his rival Prithviraj. From Hindi जयचन्द (jaycand), from Sanskrit जय (jaya, “victory”) + चन्द्र (candra, “moon”).

2021, Devdutt Patanaik, MumbaiMirrorhttps://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/someone-who-subscribed-to-a-larger-idea-one-that-went-beyond-the-self/articleshow/78467866.cms
But in Hindutva mythology, Jaichand is the archetypal traitor because of whom Muslims are able to invade and conquer India, overpowering the valiant Rajputs.

(India, politics, slang, derogatory) One who opposes Hindutva and supports its enemies, a traitor, especially a race traitor.


akhrot

Borrowed from Hindustani अख़रोट (axroṭ) / اَخْروٹ (axroṭ).


seacunny

From Arabic سُكَّان (sukkān, “helm”), influenced by sea.

(historical or India) A lascar helmsman.


sanghi

From Hindi संघी (saṅghī), from Hindi राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ (rāṣṭrīya svayansevak saṅgh), a Hindu nationalist right-wing group in India. Ultimately from Sanskrit सङ्घ (saṅgha, “heap, multitude, crowd”).

der

राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ

sanghification

making something more closer to Hindu nationalism

By using Sanghi, Digvijaya Singh is apparently referring to the RSS, the parent organisation of the BJP.

(India, nationality, patriotic) a supporter of the Sang Parivar, organisations supporting the RRS.

nationality; patriotic; nationality; patriotic

BJP leaders including H Raja posted clips of old newspapers and posters to support Rajini’s [Rajinikanth, an Indian film actor] claim about the Salem rally, while the DMK and its allies mocked the actor for "superficial" comments and aligning with right-wingers even before launching his political party formally. Hashtags like "Can't apologise" and "Sanghi Rajini" were trending through the day.

(India) a Hindutvavadi or a Hindu nationalist or patriotismic.


potdar

(India, historical) An officer who assayed and stamped the money paid as revenue.


soorkee

(India) Brick dust used in making mortar.


Lady Canning

Named after Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning (née Stuart; 1817–1861), British artist and the first vicereine of India.

(India) ledikeni (type of Bengali sweetmeat)


firka

(India) A local revenue subdivision of the various districts of the states of India.


bhoot

From Hindi भूत (bhūt), from Sanskrit भूत (bhūta).

(India) A supernatural creature, usually the ghost of a deceased person.


mango shower

(India) A shower of rain in March or April, when mangoes are beginning to ripen.


oopla

(India, archaic) Dried cow dung formed into cakes for use as fuel.


pottah

(India, historical) A document specifying the conditions on which lands are held; a lease or other document securing rights in land or house property.


tejpat

From Hindi [Term?], from Sanskrit [Term?] (literally “pungent leaf”).


toshakhana

(India, historical) A repository of articles received as presents, or intended to be given as presents, attached to a government office or to a rich person's establishment.


nokar

(India, historical) A servant, whether domestic, military, or civil.


nalayak

(India) A worthless person; good-for-nothing.


bhyacharra

bor

Hindi भाईचारा (bhāīcārā)

[…] a verbal bhyacharra division of the property […]

1846, Bengal (India). Zillah Courts, Zillah Decisions, Lower Provinces (Bengal) (page 31)

(India, historical) Describing a settlement made with the village as a community, the several claims and liabilities being regulated by established customs, or special traditional rights.


bhoosa

From Sanskrit बुस (busa, “chaff, rubbish”).

(India, historical) The husks and straw of various kinds of corn, recovered from threshing and used to feed cattle.


ghurra

(India) A spheroidal clay pot for holding water.


bandicoy

(India) Alternative form of bendekai (“okra”)


golah

From Hindi [Term?], from Hindi [Term?] (“round”), from their typical shape.

(India, historical) A storehouse for grain or salt, typically having a circular wall of mud with a conical roof.


ghari

(India) Alternative form of ghurree (“period of 24 minutes”)


dooley

(India, chiefly historical) Alternative form of dooly (“basic Indian litter; stretcher; litter”)


dhobi's earth

(India) A whitish-grey sandy efflorescence, found in many places, from which by boiling and the addition of quicklime a strong alkali is obtained.


griffish

en-adj

griffish (comparative more griffish, superlative most griffish)

more griffish (comparative)
most griffish (superlative)

I might have taken refuge in the adjoining apartments; but I felt unwilling to appear griffish, as it is called, before the family.

1835, The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register, page 124:

The first tiger I ever saw was under such circumstances, in my second year in India, with a friend as griffish to Indian sport as myself: we were two guns and a pad, his elephant wholly untried: […]

1854, Henry Whitelock Torrens, James Hume, A selection from the writings, prose and poetical, of Henry W. Torrens, page 187:

(India, dated) Resembling or characteristic of a griff or griffin, a white person newly arrived in India from Europe.


takavi

(India, historical) Money advanced to a ryot by his superior to enable him to carry on his cultivation, and recoverable with his quota of revenue.


mohurrer

Ultimately from Arabic مُحَرِّر (muḥarrir, “editor”), from مُـ (mu-) + حَرَّرَ (ḥarrara).

An embezzlement of government money to the extent of about Rs. 2,000 was discovered some time ago in the post-office here, between the baboo, mutsuddy and mohurrer.

1835 February 14, Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany, page 104:

(India, historical) A clerk or writer in a native language.


ma bap

[…] its members must adapt themselves to the changes which the country is undergoing, if they wish to command the regard, nay, the affection which the ma baps used to command in the olden days.

1905, Pherozeshah Mehta, Sir Chirravoori Yajneswara Chintamani, Speeches and Writings of the Honourable Sir Pherozeshah M. Mehta, page XXI:

The agriculturists and landlords knew nothing of rights of occupancy, and the tenants were all tenants at will. The former looked upon the latter as their "Ma Baps" (mothers and fathers), and there was very little litigation in the Courts. There was no High Court as at present constituted, and no penal or suchlike codes.

1909, E. J. Churcher, Some Reminiscences of Three-quarters of a Century in India, page 19:

It reminds me of the profession, exploded only recently, that the Government officials were the real Ma baps of the teeming millions of this country.

1925, Bombay Millowners' Association, The Indian Cotton Excise Duty, page 176:

The British believed they were doing the Indians a favor by ruling them. They referred to themselves as “ma-bap,” mother-father, and considered the Indians as children in their care.

2004, Fritz Blackwell, Lucien Ellington, India: A Global Studies Handbook, page 35:

(India, historical) A person regarded as having a somewhat parental role toward their dependents; a benevolent overseer.


amshom

Borrowed from Malayalam അംശം (aṁśaṁ), from Sanskrit अंश (aṃśa, “a part”).

(India, historical) Part of a taluk; a subdistrict.


calingula

Borrowed from Tamil கலிங்கல் (kaliṅkal).

(India, archaic) A sluice or escape in irrigation works.


husbullhookum

der

Arabic حسب الحكم

(India, historical) A document issued by officers of state on royal authority, serving as a grant or a decree.


bankshall

→ Bengali: ব্যাঙ্কশাল (bêṅkośal)

From Hindi भंडसाल (bhaṇḍsāl), from Sanskrit भाण्डशाला (bhāṇḍaśālā): भाण्ड (bhāṇḍa, “goods”) + शाला (śālā, “house, building”). Altered by folk etymology in English after bank, hall.

Sanskrit भाण्डशाला (bhāṇḍaśālā)

(India, historical) The office of a harbormaster or other port authority.


Calcutta hump

(India, historical) A salted hump of beef exported from Calcutta (present-day Kolkata).


kistbandi

(India, historical) The settlement of the yearly land revenue in instalments called kists.


khadir

Coordinate term: bangar

(India) The recent alluvial bordering a large river.


monegar

(India, historical) A village head man in the Tamil country.


ghoonghat

(India) A headscarf worn by married Hindu, Jain and Sikh women.


rowannah

From Hindi [Term?], from Persian [Term?] (“going”).


aurung

From Hindi [Term?], from Portuguese [Term?] (“a place where goods are manufactured; a depot for such goods”).

(India, historical) A factory of the East India Company for the purchase, on advances, of native piece goods etc.


kardar

(India, historical) An agent of the government in Sindh.


bargir

Borrowed from Hindi बरगीर (bargīr), from Persian بارگیر (bârgir, “baggage-horse”), from بار (bâr, “load, burden, cargo”) + گیر (gir, “carrying”), the present stem of گرفتن (gereftan).

(India, historical) A trooper of irregular cavalry who is (unlike a silladar) not the owner of his troop horse and arms, but either is put in by another person, perhaps a native officer in the regiment who takes part of his pay, or has his horse from the state he serves.


naund

(India, historical) A large earthen vessel, shaped like an inverted beehive.


Nujeeb

From Hindi [Term?], from Arabic نَجِيب (najīb, “noble”).

(India, historical) A kind of half-disciplined infantry soldier under some of the native governments; also at one time a kind of militia under the British, receiving this honorary title as being gentlemen volunteers.


omum water

(India, medicine, archaic) A common domestic medicine in south India, made from the strong-smelling carminative seeds of ajwain.


khot

(India, historical) A form of land tenure usually based around hereditary zamindars with proprietary rights.


khoti

(India, historical) The holder of the khot tenure.


jadoogur

/d͡ʒɑːˈduːɡə(ɹ)/

Borrowed from Hindi जादूगर (jādūgar), from Persian جادوگر (jâdugar).

The natives and others thronged in numbers to witness it, some called us “Jadoogurs” or magicians, and others with equal wisdom and sagacity said we must have dealings with the devil!

1925, Sir Edward John Buck, Simla, Past and Present, page 134:

(historical) A Freemason in British India.

(historical) Clipping of Jadugar-Khana (“a Freemasons' lodge in British India”, literally “house of magician”).


poolbundi

(India, historical) The securing of embankments, formerly the responsibility of a civil department in Bengal.


bylee

From Hindi बहली (bahlī), from Sanskrit वह् (vah, “to carry”).

(India, historical) A small two-wheeled vehicle drawn by two oxen.


gunta

(India, Pakistan) A measure of land area, 1/40 of an acre.


haddy

(India, historical) A grade of troops in the Moghul service, analogous to a warrant officer.


kror

(India) Alternative form of crore (“ten million”)


dobund

(India, obsolete) An additional embankment to reinforce those already present.


mosquito drawers

(India, archaic, historical) Tight-fitting churidar-like trousers.


darwaza bund

From Hindustani دروازہ / दरवाज़ा (darvāzā) + بند / बंद (band).

(India, archaic) Not at home; currently unwilling to receive visitors into one's house.


imambarra

(India, historical, Islam) A building maintained by Shi'a communities in India for the express purpose of celebrating Muharram.


muckna

(India) A male elephant whose tusks are absent or rudimentary.


putwa

Hibiscus sabdariffa
Hibiscus sabdariffa#Translingual


shoe flower

So called because of its historical use for blacking shoes.


mancheel

From Malayalam, from Sanskrit or from Classical Persian مَنْزِل (manzil), from Arabic مَنْزِل (manzil, “house; inn; stage of a journey, day's travel”).

A Muncheel is a kind of litter, resembling a sea-cot, or hammock, hung to a long pole, with a moveable covering over the whole, to keep off the sun or rain. Six men will run with one from one end of the Malabar coast to the other, while twelve are necessary for the lightest palanquin.

1830, James Welsh, Military Reminiscences, volume II, page 142:

The muncheel or manjeel..., also written munsheel and munchil, from the Malayālam manjīl, manjāl, mañchīl, mañchāl and Sanskrit maṇcha, is the name given to a kind of hammock-litter used on the south-west coast of India... It is shaded by a cover, which in some cases is held up by a frame of bent canes.

2002, Norman Mosley Penzer, Poison Damsels, page 231:

(India, chiefly historical) A covered hammock-litter developed in southwest India.


dustuck

From Persian دستک (dastak, “a little hand; hand-clapping to attract attention; a notice”).


kedgeree pot

(India, historical) A round pipkin of the kind commonly used in India for holding water and for cooking purposes.


mehtar

From Persian مهتر (“prince, chief, elder, great personage”). Regarding the sense of a scavenger, Yule & Burnell (see References) state that the term was "applied to the class in question in irony, or rather in consolation".

(India, historical) A ruler in certain princely states of the Northwest Frontier region.

(India, historical) A sweeper or scavenger of low caste.


champada

(India, archaic) A superior species of jackfruit.


Europe shop

Very excellent furniture was also to be had at the Europe shops, made by native workmen under the superintendence of European cabinet and furniture makers; and furniture of an inferior description in the native bazaars.

1850, Fanny Parkes Parlby, Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque, page 21:

The shops called the Europe shops were kept by Parsis, who sold wines, tinned provisions, groceries, and a thousand miscellaneous articles.

1877, Katharine Blanche Guthrie, My Year in an Indian Fort, volume 2, page 93:

(India, historical) A shop selling European goods in an upcountry station.


dhoon

Borrowed from Hindustani دُون (dūn) / दून (dūn).

(India, chiefly in the plural) Any of the flat valleys lying parallel to the base of the Himalayas, and between the rise of that mountain mass and the low tertiary ranges known as the sub-Himalayan or Sivalik Hills, or rather between the interior and exterior of these ranges.


gynee

Borrowed from Hindustani گَینِی (gainī) - गैनी (gainī).

(India) A kind of dwarf cow bred in Bengal.


surpoose

Ultimately from Classical Persian سرپوش (sar-pōš, literally “head-cover”), but likely transmitted through an Indic language.

der

(India, archaic) A cover, as of a basin, dish, hookah bowl, etc.


dumri

(India, historical) An Indian copper coin worth one eighth of a dam.


Europe morning

European morning
European morning#English

(India, historical) Synonym of European morning


European morning

en-noun

European morning (plural European mornings)

(India, historical) A morning spent lying in bed late, as opposed to the Anglo-Indian habit of early rising.


jhaump

(India, historical) A hurdle of matting and bamboo, used as a shutter or door.


jaffry

(India, historical) A screen or latticework, generally of bamboo, used for various purposes, such as a fence or a support for climbing plants.


faujdari

(India) The district administered by a faujdar.


daloyet

Borrowed from Hindi ढलैत (ḍhalait), from Hindi ढल (ḍhal, “a shield”).

(India, historical) An armed attendant and messenger.


dhurmsalla

(India, historical) A rest-house for wayfarers; a choultry.


Hendry Kendry

(India, obsolete) Underi and Khanderi, two islands off the coast of the Konkan.


juncaneer

(India, historical) A revenue collector.


tunkaw

(India, historical) An assignment on the revenue on land in favour of an individual.


cumrunga

(India, archaic) The carambola or star fruit.


compass wallah

(India, historical, colloquial) A surveyor.


thakurghar

(India) A room for worship; a private chapel.


boundation

Me [David Gribble]: […] What do you mean when you say "Free Progress"? / Jacqueline: Like we were not - we had no boundations to learn anything - if we wanted to do painting we could just do it.

1998, David Gribble, Real Education: Varities of Freedom, →ISBN, page 169:

After retirement the women especially aged; are found unable to cope and establish adjustment with the family members because they believe to live according to her own principal; they doesn[']t want to live in the boundation of their son and daughter-in-law.

2005, Km. Pratibha, Status and Problems of Elderly Women, page 117:

For example, cheques, bank drafts etc. do not have legal boundation. One may accept or refuse them. It is also called fiduciary money, as it is accepted as money on the basis of trust between the payer and payee.

2020 April 20, I.D. Mangla, A-One INTRODUCTORY MACROECONOMICS: For CBSE Class XII Students 2020-21, Gyan Sagar Publications, page 5:

There are a number of challenges and problems that rural women entrepreneur[]s face[] in their business[:] family boundations, time balancing between family and work […]

2020 August 25, Prof. Kishor Manikrao Waghmare, Mrs. Manisha Kishor Waghmare, U.G.C. Care Listed Research Article Trends Of Pure Science And Applied Disciplines In Higher Education System In India And Abroad During Covid-19 Lockdown Period, Blue Diamond Publishing, →ISBN, page 295:

The state or quality of being bound or obliged; obligation.


ameen

From Arabic أمين (ʔamīn, “loyal, reliable, trustworthy”).

bor

(India, historical) Any of various native Indian officials employed by the civil courts, for example to investigate accounts connected with a suit, to prosecute local enquiries of any kind bearing on a suit, to sell or to deliver over possession of immovable property, or to carry out legal process as a bailiff.


pansari

(India, historical) A pharmacist; a druggist.


shanbogue

(India, historical) A village clerk or accountant.


Ramrajya

Borrowed from Hindi रामराज्य (rāmrājya).

(India, Hinduism) The reign of Rama's rule in the kingdom of Ayodhya, in the Hindu epic Ramayana.

1929, Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhihttps://www.mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/chap67.htm
By Ramrajya I do not mean Hindu Raj [a Hindu state]. I mean Ramrajya Divine Raj, the Kingdom of God.

"The VHP will now focus more on establishing ' Ram Rajya ', a harmonious society based on equality, where every person will be treated with dignity." - Alok Kumar

(India, Hinduism, Hindutva) a government or society ruled under Hindutva.


hathi

We useter watch the steamers an' the hathis pilin' teak. Elephints a-pilin' teak

the Hathi is a wily animal , and will face fire and steel rather than what he suspects to be a trap

1922, Earl Louis Mountbatten Mountbatten of Burma, The Diaries of Lord Louis Mountbatten 1920-1922:

Here were we, jampacked on a narrow track down which the hathi was certain to come if he came at all , not a fire - iron of any sort among the lot of us, to all appearances not a vestige of an escape on either side

1923, E. H. D. Sewell, The Log of a Sportsman, page 151:


filter coffee

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-filter coffee.wav

(India, particularly South India) Indian filter coffee; a stronger blend made with milk, chicory and coffee percolated through a metal filter and served in a cup with a small, bowl-like saucer for cooling.


dubbeer

(India, historical) A writer or secretary.


gulmohur

(India) Alternative form of gold mohur (“the plant Caesalpinia pulcherrima”)


Seven Brothers

(India) The jungle babbler, Turdoides striata, habitually flocking in extended family groups.


Purdesee

The diet of the Christian and Jew privates is but little richer than that of their Brahmin and Purdesee comrades; but the men are more robust-looking, and are certainly less frequently inmates of the hospital.

1875, Sketch of the Medical History of the Native Army of Bombay, page 154:

(India, historical, archaic) In the Bombay army, a sepoy from northern India.


gold mohur

Corruption of Hindi [Term?], influenced by mohur (“a gold coin”).

Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Caesalpinia pulcherrima#Translingual

(India) The fabaceous flowering plant Caesalpinia pulcherrima.


Akademi

Essentially a re-borrowing of English academy through the phonetic/orthographic systems of Indian languages.

R. K. Narayan was the first Sahitya Akademi Award winner.

(India, chiefly compounds) (an) Academy, a specific society of scholars or artists


ghatwali

(India, historical) The feudal tenure of a ghatwal.


mulraiyati

(India, historical) The feudal tenure of a mulraiyat.


ghatwal

Coordinate term: mulraiyat

(India, historical) The feudal chief of a jagir in certain districts, responsible for maintaining law and order with the aid of a military force.


ghoom

en-verb

ghoom (third-person singular simple present ghooms, present participle ghooming, simple past and past participle ghoomed)

ghooms (present singular third-person)
ghooming (participle present)
ghoomed (participle past)
ghoomed (past)

From Hindi घूमना (ghūmnā, “to wander, turn”).

Once more we ghoomed. Turning northward this time, it was the eastern portion of the plateau that we faced, rather rougher country than on the side we had lately traversed, […]

1905, Alexander Inglis Robertson Glasfurd, Rifle and Romance in the Indian Jungle, page 86:

On off days we went ghooming in the forests and savannahs swarming with game, and picked up various sorts of deer and another leopard.

1953, Olive Smythies, Tiger Lady: Adventures in the Indian Jungle, page 222:

(India, dated, intransitive) To hunt for animals by stealth in an area where they are likely to be found on the move.


ghoom

A ghoom, too, is often an excellent time for a spear to take on and hunt a pig alone.


golkakra

(India) Synonym of gac (“Momordica cochinchinensis”).


griffinhood

By this time I had mastered the rudiments of the language, and may be said to have emerged to a great extent from the period of griffinhood.

1897, The Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, volume 5, page 491:

(India, dated) The status or behaviour of a griffin, a person newly arrived from Europe.


ghoont

(India) A small pony, especially one used as a pack animal


hazree

en-noun

hazree (usually uncountable, plural hazrees)


ruotee

(India, archaic) Alternative form of rowtee (“kind of tent”)


rowtee

(India, archaic) A small tent with a pyramidal roof, and no projection of fly, or eaves.


russud

(India, archaic) The provisions of grain, forage, and other necessaries prepared by the local officers at the campground of a military force or official cortege.


moorah

(India, archaic) A measure used in the sale of paddy.


Payen Ghaut

(India, historical) The country on the coast below the ghats or passes leading up to the tableland of the Deccan.


bobbery pack

(India, archaic) A pack of hunting dogs of different or mixed breeds.

(India, archaic, by extension, colloquial) A mixed group of any kind, such as players brought together for an impromptu game.


jail khana

Borrowed from Hindustani جیل خانَہ (jel xāna) / जेल ख़ाना (jel xānā).

(India, historical) A prison, especially in the Bengal Presidency.


Sanatana Dharma

Borrowed from Sanskrit सनातन धर्म (sanātana dharma, “the eternal way, the eternal law”).

bor

(India, Hinduism) Orthodox and traditionalist Hinduism.


krantikari

Hindi क्रांतिकारी (krāntikārī)

Even from my small scholarship money, I used to donate to the local krantikari teams. Sometimes they used to hide in our hostels, trying to run away from the police. However, I never participated directly. I believe there are many ways to serve the country, and my work is nothing less than that of the krantikaris.

2015 July 14, Debajani Mohanty, The Curse of Damini, Partridge Publishing, →ISBN:

If I didn't have so much money I could almost be like one of those unwashed, lesbian mahila krantikaris from LSR you know?

2018 April 20, Rohan Dahiya, The Bitter Pill Social Club, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

These riyasats were preyed on by dacoits (armed robbers) and were also a refuge for absconding krantikaris (revolutionaries) active in the region.

2021 September 30, Aparna Vaidik, Waiting for Swaraj: Inner Lives of Indian Revolutionaries, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 3:


Sanatani

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit सनातनी (sanātanī, “of the eternal [way], Hindu”).

lbor

(India, Hinduism, religious slur, politics) a traditionalist Hindu


libbu

(India, politics, derogatory, vulgar, Internet slang) A liberal, a leftist.

raita

a conservative Hindu who does not support Hindutva


sarkari Muslim

The usage of sarkari as a negative term originated from Khalistani supporters who condemned Sikhs who supported the government of India. It was later adopted by Muslim activists and nationalists within India.

Shahbagi

equivalent term in Bangladesh used for liberals and opponents of Islam

(India, derogatory, slang, ethnic slur) A Muslim who supports India, especially the BJP and Hindutva, at the expense of other Muslims, a Muslim Indian race traitor.

(India, derogatory, slang, politics, religious slur) A Muslim who rejects some Islamic beliefs and norms, a liberal Muslim.


savarna

From Hindi सवर्ण (savarṇ), derived from Sanskrit सवर्ण (savarṇa, “same colour, same caste”).

der

(India, Hinduism) A member of the Savarna gotra (lineage) of the Brahmin caste.


savarna

en-adj

savarna (comparative more savarna, superlative most savarna)

more savarna (comparative)
most savarna (superlative)

(India, Hinduism) From the four varnas (social castes) in Hinduism.


Ghar Wapsi

Transliteration of Hindi घर वापसी (ghar vāpsī, literally “to return home”), from घर (ghar, “home”) and वापसी (vāpsī, “return, coming back”). The term owes to the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India in ancient times were Hindus, so by converting to Hinduism they were returning to the religion of their ancestors.

translit

(India, Hinduism, Hindutva) Conversion of non-Hindu people to Hinduism.


Urduwood

Four, although Baahubali is not a Bollywood film, Baahubali trolls resent the success of Bollywood’s three Khans, because they are non-Hindus – hence the “Urduwood” taunt.

(India, Hindutva, informal, Internet slang) Bollywood.


khutput

(India, historical) Institutional intrigue and corruption.


mutlub

From Hindi [Term?], from Arabic مَطْلُوب (maṭlūb).

Kindly translate the Petition and let me know the mutlub. Yours, R. L.

1888, Octavius Sturges, In the Company's Service: A Reminiscence, page 135:

Yes, that is the mutlub of the whole thing!

1919, India. Industrial Commission, East India (Industrial Commission, 1916-18): Minutes..., page 47:

(India, historical) The gist or crux of something; the main point.


pariah arrack

(India, obsolete) A poisonous home-brewed spirit commonly sold to European soldiers and sailors in the 17th and 18th centuries.


lumberdar

From Hindi [Term?], partially from English number (since each such person had a registration number).

(India, historical) The registered representative of a coparcenary community, who is responsible for government revenue.


dowra

(India, historical) A guide (person who leads others).


mainato

(India, historical) A washerman or dhobi.


goolail

(India, historical) A stonebow (crossbow for shooting stones).


shirinbaf

(India, obsolete) A kind of fine white muslin.


goodry

It was amusing to see him about noon, seated on his goodry, now paying away money, […]

1832, Calcutta Magazine and Monthly Register, volumes 25-28, page 13:


darcheenee

Borrowed from Hindustani दारचीनी (dārcīnī) / دَارْچِینِی (dārcīnī).


pisachee

Now these monstrous shaitans and pisachees of India had followed him to Arabia, where they shot across the desert as evil jinn […]

1963, Daniel Allan Kinsley, Allen Edwardes, Death Rides a Camel: A Biography of Sir Richard Burton, page 94:


sickularism

(India, Indian politics, derogatory) Secularism, viewed as being anti-Hindu.


meethi roti

From Hindi मीठी रोटी (mīṭhī roṭī, literally “sweet roti”).

bor

(India) A kind of sweetened fried chapatti.


IT cell

YSRCP IT Cell in-charge Challa Madhusudan Reddy categorically said that his party was no way associated with Political Punch website founder Inturi Ravikiran, who was earlier questioned by police for posting graphic content berating AP Legislative Council in social media.

2017 April 26, “YSRCP IT wing incharge appears before cops”, in The Hans India:

The BJP’s IT cell used these influencers first, but then began ignoring them because they thought the Modi magic was enough. The party is in trouble because just the IT cell, fake accounts and bots do not achieve what needs to be accomplished through social media.

2019 January 29, “Former BJP data analyst on how the party wins elections and influences people”, in The Caravan:

According to him, while the IT cells of both the BJP and Congress engage in coordinated activity on Twitter, the former has a much larger and more complex structure than the latter. However, what is common to both is a set of nodal or seed accounts that act as the source of political content.

2020 January 28, Neerad Pandharipande, “Massive tweet volumes, complex hierarchies, coordinated attacks: Hacker reveals how BJP, Congress IT cells wage war on social media”, in Firstpost:

Journalists who are on Twitter often decide what is newsworthy based on the top few trending hashtags or keywords. Therefore, it became the goal of political IT cells to tweet enough on a particular topic to make the Twitter algorithms rank it as the number 1 trending topic.

2021 November 29, Regina Mihindukulasuriya, “From ‘I had idli’ to political megaphone, how tiny Twitter punches above its weight in India”, in ThePrint:

(India, politics) a department of a political party set up to promote the party and influence political discussion on social media


Tukde Tukde Gang

Borrowed from Hindi टुकड़े टुकड़े गैंग (ṭukṛe ṭukṛe gaiṅg), from Hindi टुकड़ा (ṭukṛā, “fragment”). Coined by the journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, later popularised after an alleged video of Jawaharlal Nehru University students calling for India to be divided during a protest.

bor+

टुकड़े टुकड़े गैंग

(India, Indian politics, Hindutva) Leftist mass-media groups and companies that oppose Narendra Modi's administration and Hindutva.


Godi media

en-noun

Godi media (countable and uncountable, plural Godi medias)

From Hindi गोदी (godī, “lap”) + media, referring to the mentioned media as “lap dogs” of Narendra Modi. Coined by journalist Ravish Kumar.

(uncountable, India, Indian politics, derogatory) Mass media that supports Narendra Modi and Hindutva.


Jai Shri Ram

Borrowed from Hindi जय श्री राम (jay śrī rām).

(Hinduism) "Victory to Lord Rama"; a salute or invocation towards the Hindu god Rama.

ജയ് ശ്രീ റാം

jayŭ śrī ṟāṁ


butteca

(India, obsolete) A boutique; a small shop.


puttywalla

From Hindi [Term?] (literally “one with a belt”); see puttee, wallah.

bor

(India, historical) A messenger or orderly attached to an office, and bearing a belt and brass badge.


hakenkreuz

The big elliptical main hall, quite a beautiful saloon, looked at first sight like a German show, for the hakenkreuzes, or swastikas, on the tails of the German aeroplanes, and a frieze of the same emblem round most of the gallery[…]

A prominent US-based Hindu organization has urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian-origin leader Jagmeet Singh not to conflate the ‘Swastika’, an ancient and auspicious symbol for Hindus with the ‘Hakenkreuz’, a 20th century Nazi symbol of hate.

Each of the following is a prohibited Nazi symbol: / (a) the Nazi hakenkreuz;[…]

2023, Parliament of Australia, “Schedule 1, new section 80.2E(2) in Criminal Code (Cth.)”, in Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Act 2023, page 4:

(chiefly India, often capitalized) The swastika that is used as a Nazi symbol.


rabri

(India) Synonym of rabadi (“Indian dessert”)


ghugni

(India) A curry made from boiled peas or chickpeas in a gravy made with coconut, ginger and garlic pastes, etc.


underroot

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-underroot.wav

The underroot of the product of two regression coefficients gives us the coefficient of correlation .

1981, Paruchuri R. Krishnaiah, A Hand Book of Statistics - Volume 1, page 298:

To take the underroot of (2c-n)/n, the negative (2c-n)/n is multiplied with the minus sign to make it positive since one cannot take the underroot of minus item.

2008, Tulsian P.C. & Jhunjhunwala Bharat, Business Statistics, pages 7-32:

The Euclidian distance uses the under-root of the squared sum of the difference between individual ratings of the two samples whose similarity we want to find.

2020, Gulshan Shrivastava, Sheng-Lung Peng, Himani Bansal, New Age Analytics: Transforming the Internet through Machine Learning, page 193:


duggie

(India, archaic) A long squared timber of irregular breadth and thickness.


dotchin

(India, obsolete) A steelyard or balance.


chuckmuck

(India, historical) A steel attached to a pouch containing flint and tinder.


dumbcow

en-verb

dumbcow (third-person singular simple present dumbcows, present participle dumbcowing, simple past and past participle dumbcowed)

dumbcows (present singular third-person)
dumbcowing (participle present)
dumbcowed (participle past)
dumbcowed (past)

(India, archaic, transitive) To browbeat; to intimidate or cow.


chowry-burdar

(India, historical) A servant who carries a chowry or flyflap.


dadny

Borrowed from Hindi दादनी (dādnī), from Classical Persian دَادَن (dādan).

(India, historical) An advance paid to a craftsman, a weaver, etc. by a trader in the goods produced.


Guj

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Gujarat.


Hyd

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Hyderabad.


Maha

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Maharashtra.


B'lore

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Bangalore.


U'khand

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Uttarakhand.


K'taka

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Karnataka.


J'khand

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Jharkhand.


T'gana

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Telangana.


C'garh

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Chandigarh.

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Chhattisgarh.


B'luru

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Bengaluru.


POCSO

It is argued that the petitioner and the victim were good friends and the petitioner who is a minor had no intention to kidnap the minor victim or commit any sexual offence envisaged under the POCSO Act. Further, it is said the POCSO act is not intended to bring within its ambit the romantic relationship between adolescents or teenagers.

2022 April 25, Mustafa Plumber, “Can POCSO Case Against Minor Be Quashed On Parties Arriving At A Mutual Settlement? Karnataka High Court To Consider”, in LiveLaw.in:

(India, law) Acronym of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, an Act.


WhatsApp University

Compound of WhatsApp + university, mocking the level of knowledge of those who primarily use WhatsApp rumours as a source.

(India, Indian politics, slang, derogatory) Rumours spread through social media as a source for information, usually through WhatsApp.


Home Minister

Coordinate term: Prime Minister

(India, government) The head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India.


Macaulay's children

Sanatani

a devout Hindu who values traditionalist Hinduism

From Thomas Babington Macaulay, a British politician who made English the language used by higher levels of formal education in India. The term refers to his views towards traditional Indian culture and the Hindu religion, which he described as stagnant and unfit for the modern world.

(India, derogatory, slang, politics, ethnic slur) Indian people who reject their native culture in favour of westernization.


finger chips

en-noun

finger chips pl (normally plural, singular finger chip)

For dinner, you could choose between Indian and Continental. I picked the latter and feasted on crumb-fried fish, a roast chicken with a few strands of noodles floating in the gravy, bread, boiled vegetables, and a couple of thick-cut finger chips.

2023 April 14, Priyadarshini Chatterjee, “Indian Railways food and its regional makeover: will the gamble pay off?”, in The Hindu, archived from the original on 2023-04-15:


Nai Talim

(India, education) A principle of basic education for all, with an appreciation for handicrafts and communal self-reliance, promoted by Mahatma Gandhi.


Khalistani

en-adjective

Khalistani (comparative more Khalistani, superlative most Khalistani)

more Khalistani (comparative)
most Khalistani (superlative)

From Khalistan + -i. Derived from Punjabi ਖ਼ਾਲਿਸਤਾਨ (xālistān, literally “place of Khalsa”).

der

(India) Related to Khalistan, a name for the Punjab region of northern India.


H'yana

(India, journalism) Abbreviation of Haryana.


Hindumisia

From Hindu + -misia (as in misogyny or misotheism). Sometimes used as an alternative to the word Hinduphobia, to point out hatred towards Hindus or Hinduism as opposed to being afraid of Hindus or Hinduism.

(India, neologism, rare) Hatred of Hinduism and Hindu people.


Lutyens' media

From Edwin Lutyens, a British architect who designed the city of New Delhi, which was also known as "Lutyens' Delhi".
Because it contained the Parliament building, it was also known as "Lutyens' zone", and the name "Lutyens" became associated with leftist politicians.

(India, derogatory, slang, Hindutva) Leftist-aligned mass media.


Hindumisic

en-adj

Hindumisic (comparative more Hindumisic, superlative most Hindumisic)

more Hindumisic (comparative)
most Hindumisic (superlative)

(India, neologism, rare) Showing hostility and hatred against Hinduism and Hindu people.

(India, politics) Opposed to Hindutva or Hindu nationalism.


Nizam-e-Mustafa

From Urdu نظام مصطفى, made of Arabic نظام (“law, order”) and Arabic مصطفى (“the Chosen One [by God], a title for the Prophet Muhammad”). Literally means "the order of the Chosen One".

bor

Urdu نظام مصطفى

der

the Chosen One 􂀿by God􂁀, a title for the Prophet Muhammad

(Islam, Pakistan, India) the ideal society, ethics, and social norms of the Prophet Muhammad.

Dar al-Islam

the Muslim world in general, rather than one specific society or state


Jai Hind

Borrowed from Hindi जय हिंद (jay hind), from जय (jay, “hail to, victory”) and हिंद (hind, “India”). Coined by Subhas Chandra Bose, an Indian freedom activist.

(India, politics) "Victory to India", a patriotic slogan raised to salute or celebrate India.


AIIMS

w:All India Institutes of Medical Sciences

(education, India) Abbreviation of All India Institutes of Medical Sciences.


outrage of modesty

en-noun

outrage of modesty (countable and uncountable, plural outrages of modesty)

(criminal law, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Pakistan) molestation; indecent assault, especially against women


burtah

(India, archaic) A salty, spicy relish made from Suleah fish.


chundole

(India, historical) A kind of large palanquin.


wazukhana

From Hindi वज़ूख़ाना (vazūxānā) / Urdu وضو خانا (vazūxānā, “washing court”), from वज़ू (vazū) / وضو (vazū, “washing, wudu”) + ख़ाना (xānā) / خانا (xānā, “court”).

bor

Hindi वज़ूख़ाना (vazūxānā)

(India, Pakistan, Islam) a pool in a mosque where worshippers wash themselves as wudu before praying.


mokurruree

(India, historical, attributive) A form of hereditary tenure at a fixed rent.


russoomdar

(India, historical, rare) One who receives a russoom.


russoom

(India, historical) A fee, commission, or perquisite.


amma canteen

(India) A state-run canteen serving cheap subsidized food.


jilaudar

(India, historical) A servant who leads a horse.


sheristadar

(India, historical) The head ministerial officer of a court, responsible, among other business, for dealing with incoming complaints.


thaat

Borrowed from Hindi or Marathi थाट (thāṭ).

Coordinate term: (in Carnatic ragas) melakarta

(India, music) One of the basic musical scales or modes used by classical Hindustani ragas, characterized by seven notes (swaras).


notebandi

(India) The demonetization of certain banknotes.


chitta

She was admitted the Centre for her heroin/chitta addiction on the insistence of her family. She was introduced to the drug by her husband, who was a drug addict and a peddler.

(Can we date this quote?), Abhijit Dhillon, “Gender and Drug Use in Punjab: A study of Female Drug Users at Navkiran De-addiction Centre, Kapurthala”, in JSPS, volume 28, number 1:

Chitta (Diacetymorphine, a semisynthetic opioid), is an adulterated form of heroine^([sic]) and is addictive.

2020 January 11, Nov 2020 - English - Himachal Competition Focus (Himachal Competition Focus), Sarla Publications Private Limited, page 4:

One of them got me 'chitta'(synthetic drug produced from heroin and other substances) for free. I asked him what does he want in return, he said 'its okay between friends'. He kept getting me chitta for free for some days, gradually I started getting addicted. Once he was sure, I was 'hooked' he started charing me Rs. 2000-3000.

2021 October 1, Sanjeev P. Sahni, Poulomi Bhadra, Criminal Psychology and the Criminal Justice System in India and Beyond, Springer Nature, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 75:


paindoo

Islamabad of the 21st century is not worth living. All problems of all other Pakistani cities have been allowed to mushroom into Islamabad particularly the lawlessness, street vendors, thug mafia and the greatest number of paindoos, who have no civic sense.

2003, M. Hanif Raza, Islamabad and Environs, Best Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 40:

(India, derogatory) A villager; rustic; hick.


SC/ST

(India) Short for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.


madherchod

[…]and both you disgusting,smelly
sulla madherchods kiss each other,and lickety lick off on each
others,black unwashed,eczema infested scratchy ghands^([sic])...both you homo
madherchods,know that both you unfortunate same sex ghandoos are
talking through your arses,and know nothing about beauty,and are
forced in, calling each other beautifull,^([sic])yucks,roftl..fuck what
wreched^([sic]) madherchod gay lovers from gaypakistan both you fucking paki
fags are....

2003 September 17, koolfire_or, “Rocca confirms Pakis are terrorists”, in soc.culture.pakistan (Usenet):

(India, derogatory, offensive, vulgar) Uncommon spelling of madarchod.


sumjao

From Hindi [Term?], an imperative verb form meaning "cause to know, warn, correct", usually with the implication of physical coercion.

[…] to double the number of the secretaries, so that one portion of them may do the work, while the other carry up papers to the Council and sumjao its members.

1883, Hyderabad Affairs, volume 3, page 210:

He comes to sumjao the English and incidentally to crown the great work of his lifetime. Not, be it observed, to sumjao the Ministry or the Foreign Office. They are apparently quite tractable already.

1912, The National Review, volume 59, page 607:

(India, obsolete, transitive) To threaten or coerce.


coosumba

(India, obsolete) A preparation of opium.


anjeer

In Unani medicine, Anjeer is used as a mild laxative, expectorant, diuretic; also in the diseases of the liver and spleen as a deobstruent and anti-inflammatory agent.

2011, C. P. Hare, Indian Herbal Remedies, page 219:

1 1⁄2 cups anjeer soaked in S cups of water

2015, Vanita Vij, The Flavours of India: Cooking the Indian Way:


overweightage

Overweightage is supposed to be given to these communities, but even equal opportunity is not being given to them.

1972, India. Parliament. Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, page 229:

Don't give overweightage to other people's views about you as to whether they know your calibre or capabilities or whether they overestimate or underestimate you. There are many people in the world who don't know at all about you.

1995, M. K. Gupta, How To Remain Ever Happy:

(India) Extra or undue weight or importance.


Smt

(India) Alternative form of Smt. Abbreviation of Shrimati.


Shrimati

From Sanskrit श्रीमती (śrīmatī), feminine form of श्रीमत् (śrīmat).

He was followed by 46-year-old President Kaunda and Shrimati Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India.

1970 September 12, Socialist India, Indian National Congress, page 1:

(India) A title of respect used before female names, Mrs.


forwardal

(India) The forwarding of something, such as a letter.


xerox machine

(Philippines, India, dated in Canada, US) A photocopier.


kachnar

(India) The flowering tree Bauhinia variegata.


dikk

And Beaufort learned in the law, / And Atkinson the Sage, / And if his locks are white as snow, / 'Tis more from dikk than age!

1873, Wilfrid Heeley, A Lay of Modern Darjeeling:

He hated any sort of dikk — that is, unnecessary trouble or fuss — and he never bothered his head about accounts.

1942, Francis Yeats-Brown, Indian Pageant, page 126:

(India, archaic) Worry; trouble; hassle.


kutcha-pukka

(India) A kind of mixed construction employing burnt brick cemented with mud instead of lime mortar.


goont

We frequently watched one, and starting fairly, cantered as fast as our goonts would go, to keep up with it; but in vain, it always outstripped us.

1846, Sir William Lloyd, George Lloyd, Narrative of a Journey from Caunpoor to the Boorendo Pass, page 202:

(India, archaic) A kind of pony of the northern Himalayas.


dohai

'Dohai! Dohai!' they screamed. 'They've killed our men, we want justice. Hang these foreigners or hand them over to us.'

She flung her hands up to heaven, and her young voice rose in the traditional cry for justice. 'Dohai! Dohai!'

1893, Macmillan's Magazine, volume 67, page 153:

(India) A traditional cry for justice or the redressing of a wrong.


sirky

en-noun

sirky (countable and uncountable, plural sirkies)

(India, obsolete) A kind of unplaited matting formed by laying the fine cylindrical culms from the upper part of the grass Tripidium bengalense side by side, and binding them in single or double layers. It may be laid under the thatch of a house, used to cover carts and palanquins, to make table-mats, etc.


sar tan se juda

From Urdu سر تن سے جدا (sar tan seh judā, “separate the head from the body; beheading”), سر (“head”) + تن (“body”) + سے (se, “from”) + جدا (“separate”). Shortening of Urdu گستاخ رسول کی ایک ہی سزا سر تن سے جدا (Gustākh-e-Rasūl kī ek hī sazā, sar tan sē judā, “there is only one punishment for insulting the Prophet, cut the head from the body”).

bor

سر تن سے جدا

bor

گستاخ رسول کی ایک ہی سزا سر تن سے جدا

2022, Firstpost.comhttps://www.firstpost.com/india/know-origin-of-sar-tan-se-juda-indias-anti-hindu-war-cry-after-nupur-sharmas-controversial-remark-on-prophet-muhammad-11024041.html
‘Sar tan se juda’ is not a new outcry in India. It was first used widely about 5 years ago, when Kamlesh Tiwari of Lucknow gave a statement about Pangbar Mohammad.

This came after protests led by Syed Abdahu Kashaf, an influencer and self-proclaimed social and civil rights activist, who has now defended using the "sar tan se juda" slogan.

(India, Pakistan, Islam) A slogan calling for the killing of blasphemers against Islam.


unavailed

Lastly it is emphasized that the seasonal workers are allowed wages in lieu of unavailed leave in accordance with the terms of the agreement […]

1959, Uttar Pradesh (India). Labour Dept, Awards Made by the Tribunals (page 68)

However, the unavailed CENVAT credit in respect of capital goods will be allowed only if the said credit was admissible as credit under the existing law and is also admissible as ITC under this CGST Act.

2020, V. Srikanth, GST Demystified: A Detailed Analysis:

(India) Of which one does not avail oneself; unused.


sapinda

(India) A deceased relative who is connected to the greater body of ancestors by the sharing of a sacrificial offering.


item girl

The vampy item girls were thus outpaced by the heroines performing item numbers.

2012, Tilak Rishi, Bless You Bollywood!, page 97:

(India) A woman who performs in an item number.


item number

(India) An upbeat musical number within a film, accompanied by a provocative dance sequence performed by attractive women, or "item girls".


weighment

en-noun

weighment (countable and uncountable, plural weighments)


dixnary

/ˈdɪks(ʊ)ˌnæːɹɪ/

/ˈdɪks(ʊ)ˌnɛːɹɪ/

A syncopic form of a pentasyllabic pronunciation of dictionary (approximately /ˈdɪksɪ.ʊˌnæːɹɪ/); compare the development of merlin from Middle English merlioun.


batasha

(India) A kind of sugar-based confection.


lathiyal

(India) A hired ruffian armed with a club or lathi.


Nambeadarim

From Malayalam [Term?] (literally “a general, a prince”).


moturpha

(India, historical) Any of a number of miscellaneous taxes in Madras and Bombay.


Beitcul

(India, historical) A place occupying the isthmus connecting Carwar Head in Canara with the land, and lying close to the Harbour of Carwar, the inner part of which is Beitcul Cove.


langoti

He wraps a dry, red-coloured gamchha around his body and pulls off his soaking langot.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 158:


woordie major

Uncertain. Yule states: "Both the rationale of the compound title, and the etymology of wardī, are obscure. Platts gives Hind. wardī or urdī, 'uniform of a soldier, badge or dress of office,' as the first part of the compound, with a questionable Skt. etymology, viruda, 'crying, proclaiming, a panegyric.' But there is also Ar. wird, 'a flight of birds,' and then also 'a troop or squadron,' which is perhaps as probable. Others, again, as many military titles have come from S. India, connect it with Can. varadi, 'news, an order.'"

(India, military, obsolete) A native adjutant in regiments of Indian irregular cavalry.


Rum-Johnny

At length, one of my own domestics informed me, that he was a Rum-Johnny who had been discharged from my service, in which he held the office of mosaulchy, (or linkboy,) for theft.

1810, Thomas Williamson, The East India Vade-mecum, page 168:

(India, historical) A native who loitered about the wharves of Calcutta seeking employment as a servant with newly arrived Europeans.


moolvee

(India, historical) A judge or other person learned in the law.


inamdar

(India, historical) One who received a grant or gift of lands from the British Raj as a reward for service.


chamchagiri

Borrowed from Hindi चमचागिरी (camcāgirī, “sycophancy”), from चमचा (camcā, “sycophant, yesman”) + -गिरी (-girī).

People are unhappy if you are doing well and happy when you are sitting idle at home. I think that I’ve always been a soft target for controversies maybe because I have not gelled well or should I say ‘I did not do chamchagiri’.

2018 April 29, Shreya Mukherjee, “Sonal Vengurlekar on controversies around her: People close to me know the truth”, in Hindustan Times:

I was exposed shockingly to the great Indian chamchagiri culture at the age of 19 when I started off with my three-year internship at an MNC. […] What’s more, the chamchagiri came from her own creed who underwent a pupate transformation in front of her bosses.

2019 April 5, Parvathy Anantakrishnan, “The Great Indian Chamcha”, in The Times of India:


Meghdoot card

(India, philately) A reduced-rate post card, with advertising on the address side used to subsidize the postage cost.


goondagiri

Borrowed from Hindi गुंडागिरी (guṇḍāgirī), from गुंडा (guṇḍā, “hoodlum, hooligan”) + -गिरी (-girī, “suffix meaning ‘the act of; doing’”).

Hindi गुंडागिरी (guṇḍāgirī)

Kumar said the party launched the yatra to say that what Bengaluru wants is "Modigiri and not goondagiri."

2018 March 2, PTI, “BJP in Karnataka launches march to 'protect Bengaluru', says people want Modigiri and not goondagiri'”, in Firstpost:

JL50’s Professor Mitra aka Piyush Mishra says he has never been adversely affected due to nepotism but there is an element of ‘goondagiri’ in the industry.

2020 September 10, Sweta Kaushal, “Piyush Mishra on nepotism in Bollywood: ‘No Kapoor or Khan family came in my way, but dadagiri does exist’”, in Hindustan Times:


conicopoly

Borrowed from Tamil கணக்குப்பிள்ளை (kaṇakkuppiḷḷai).

bor+

கணக்குப்பிள்ளை

(India, historical) A native clerk or accountant in the Madras presidency.


competitioner

competition wallah
competition wallah#English

(India, historical) Synonym of competition wallah


jalkar

(India, historical) A kind of tenure involving fishing rights.


tappaul

(India, historical) Synonym of dak (“post system by means of relays of horses carrying mail and passengers”)


suvasini

(India) A married woman whose husband is still alive.


kati roll

(India) A street-food dish from Kolkata, originally a skewer-roasted kebab wrapped in a paratha, but now more generally any filled roti.


nagar panchayat

en-noun

nagar panchayat (plural nagar panchayats)

(India) An urban political unit comparable to a municipality.


raw papaya

(India) unripened papaya (papaya whose flesh is still green)


bullumteer

From volunteer, as pronounced by sepoys.

The colonel now addressed me, […] adding, "I hope we shall send you to your regiment up the country quite a proficient, and calculated to reflect credit on your instructors in the Zubberdust Bullumteers."

1880, Francis John Bellew, Memoirs of a Griffin; Or, A Cadet's First Year in India, page 202:

We were all bullumteers on the Canal works.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, His Brother’s Keeper:

(India, military, slang, obsolete) A volunteer of certain regiments of the old Bengal Army.


country beer

country beer (countable and uncountable, plural country beers)

See country (“made in India, not imported”).

(India, historical) Beer made in India, not imported from Europe or elsewhere.

(India, historical) A cooling fizzy drink made with tamarinds, lemons, sugar, etc.


forasdar

(India, historical) A holder of foras land.


foras land

foras land (countable and uncountable, plural foras lands)

(India, historical) Land reclaimed from the sea by constructing causeways or embankments.


sungtara

(India, obsolete) A kind of pear-shaped orange.


sittringy

(India, historical) A carpet of coloured cotton, often striped.


chalta

(India) The elephant apple (Dillenia indica) (tree or fruit).


Binky Nabob

(India, historical, obsolete) The commandant of the artillery.


dressing-boy

(India, historical) A native male valet in Madras during the British Raj, corresponding to the bearer of North India.


canongo

From Persian [Term?] (literally “law-utterer”).

bor

(India, historical) In upper India, and formerly in Bengal, the registrar of a tahsil, or other revenue subdivision, who receives the reports of the patwaris, or village registrars.


munsubdar

(India, historical) A quasifeudal dependent of the Moghul government who was assigned territory on condition of supplying a certain number of horses.


soucar

February 28 1785, Edmund Burke, speech in the House of Commons on the Nabob of Arcot's Debts
When a soucar, that is a money dealer, becomes security for any native prince, the course is for the native prince to countersecure the money dealer, by making over to him in mortgage a portion of his territory


doolee

(India, obsolete) Alternative form of dooly (“basic Indian litter; stretcher; litter”)


hurtaul

(India, obsolete) yellow arsenic, orpiment


boyanore

In 1722, however, the French were invited to settle in Malabar by two Chiefs styled Boyanores, the elder of whom had formerly been Governor of Cadutinada, under the king of Colastry, but had lately made himself independent.

1856, Bombay Quarterly Review, volume 3, page 103:

(India, obsolete) A native ruler in certain parts of India.


cotia

From Hindi [Term?] or Arabic كُوْتِيّة (kūtiyya), possibly linked to medieval Arabic قِطْعَة (qiṭʕa, “a kind of galley”), or from an Indian language.

cog

(India, historical) A fast-sailing vessel, with two masts and lateen sails, employed on the Malabar coast.

Brill Publishers
Cham, Switzerland
Dionisius A. Agius
Leiden
Palgrave Macmillan
Reading, Berkshire


jaadugar

/ˈd͡ʒɑːdjʊɡə/

Borrowed from Hindi जादूगर (jādūgar), from Classical Persian جَادُوگَر (jādūgar).

“I've spotted the jaadugar preparing to start his act,” he said.

1985, Margaret R. Bhatty, Kidnapping at Birpur, page 93:

They were beautiful, those two, and young; to see them was to know the magic of that jaadugar in the heavens.

Because a woman jaadugar saw that and did it.

2018, Mahima Nayar, Against All Odds: Psychosocial Distress and Healing among Women:

That had been what the jaadugar used after all.

2021, Roshani Chokshi, The Gilded Wolves:


Gounder

From Tamil கவுண்டர் (kavuṇṭar, “protector of the country”).

der

What is intriguing is the poor performance of the party in Karur, another Kongu heartland, where it got only 14,269 votes. Poll observers feel the KNMK had purposefully fielded a weak candidate, R Natarajan, in Karur to help shift their votes to AIADMK's M Thambidurai, a Gounder by caste.

2009 May 21, Jayaraj Sivan, “Gounder consolidation could pose headache to major parties”, in The Times of India, archived from the original on 2012-11-04:

DMK’s Coimbatore district secretary and former Minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy said there was a wrong impression that the KNMK could bring the entire Gounder community under its fold. As a region dominated by Gounders, it was only natural that the members of the community would be spread across all parties and not under one.

2013 December 29, K. V. Prasad, “KNMK, a sub-regional party at the crossroads”, in The Hindu, archived from the original on 2013-12-31:

The settlement, spread over 20 acres, has 460 families, with 133 houses occupied by Chakkliyan families. Other families are of upper-caste Gounders and various Hindu communities.

2017 June 23, Shaju Philip, “A marriage sharpens caste divide in Kerala village”, in The Indian Express, archived from the original on 2020-11-12:

(India) A title used by various communities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.


putelee

(India) A large boat for transporting produce.


semipukka

(India, of a building) Constructed using a combination of pukka (strong, high-quality) and kutcha (inferior) materials.


bursautee

From Hindi बरसात (barsāt, “rain; rainy season”).

bor

(India, obsolete) A disease of horses caused by Pythium insidiosum, thought to be especially common in the rainy season, and characterized by pustular eruptions on the head and foreparts.


rumna

(India, obsolete) A chase, or reserved hunting-ground.


fool rack

From Hindi फूल (phūl, “flower”) and rack (“arak, a kind of liquor”), influenced by fool.

(India, obsolete) A strong alcoholic drink made from distilled toddy or sura.

(India, obsolete) A strong alcoholic drink prepared like brandy, said to have been made from the stinging sea blubber to give it more potency.


rafugar

(India, obsolete) A workman who repairs shawls and other woolen fabrics; a darner.


shishmahal

(India, historical) A native Indian palace with glittering ornamentation such as mirrors.


sickman

From the English phrase sick man, adopted into sepoy patois.

Generally the entrails of big animals are kept suspended at full length by means of strong ropes and a stick is taken to point out, to the friends of a sickman or an inquirer, the particular sign of recovery or of death which is indicated by peculiar marks in the entrails of the slain animal.

1896, Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India, volume 4, page 3:

Mody K. Marak who is more than seventy is a sickman. He is very slow in the disposal of business.

1976, V. Venkata Rao, A Century of Tribal Politics in North East India, 1874-1974, page 256:

[…] the Sultan showed marvellous power of endurance, and refused to lie in bed like a sickman.

2001, M. A. Saleem Khan, Al-Biruni's Discovery of India: An Interpretative Study, page 42:

(India) A person who is unwell or incapacitated.


chakla

(India) A flat circular board used for rolling out dough.


parbutty

(India, historical) A subordinate village officer in parts of the Madras presidency.


pishcash

en-verb

pishcash (third-person singular simple present pishcashes, present participle pishcashing, simple past and past participle pishcashed)

pishcashes (present singular third-person)
pishcashing (participle present)
pishcashed (participle past)
pishcashed (past)

(India, obsolete, transitive) To pay an offering or tribute to.


peshcush

en-noun

peshcush (countable and uncountable, plural peshcushes)

(India, obsolete) An offering or tribute.


phoorza

phoorza (countable and uncountable, plural phoorzas)

From Gujarati ફુરજો (phurjo), from Arabic فُرْضَة (furḍa).

(India, obsolete, countable) A custom house.

(India, obsolete, by extension) A tax or custom duty.


mirasidar

(India, historical) A village landholder who paid rent directly to the sovereign; an aristocratic landowner in India.


jungli

You are a jungli. We ought to send you to England to be civilized.

1964, Cecilie Leslie, The Rope Bridge, page 28:

[T]he legendary Adivasi leader Jaipal Singh Munda who came to represent the tribals not just of his native plateau, but also of all of India, said,
As a jungli, as an Adibasi, I am not expected to understand the legal intricacies of the Resolution.

2018, Vaijayanta Anand, Geeta Balakrishnan, Purnima George, Community Practices in India: Lessons from the Grassroots, page 66:

(India) An inhabitant of the jungle or wild forest.


shibar

Perhaps from Persian [Term?] (literally “royal-carrier”).

bor

(India, obsolete) A kind of coasting vessel, sometimes described as a great patamar.


seerpaw

/ˈsɪə(ɹ)pɔː/

(India, historical) A complete suit, presented as a khalat or dress of honour, by the sovereign or his representative.


shoe-goose

Corrupted form influenced by the familiar but irrelevant English words shoe and goose.

(India, obsolete) Alternative form of syagush


golandause

(India, obsolete) A native Indian artilleryman.


pamri

(India) A kind of loose shawl or mantle.


jummabundi

(India, obsolete) A register of holdings.


patel

Borrowed from Gujarati પટેલ (paṭel, “village headman”), which is from Sanskrit पट्टकिल (paṭṭakila).

In the troublous times which followed 1804, when the Maráthá power was waning, and every district almost was a scene of struggle for the supremacy, the patels everywhere came forward and boldly protected the villages, […]

1892, Baden Henry Baden-Powell, The Land Systems of British India (book 3, page 464)


nirk

(India, historical) A tariff, rate, or current price, especially one established by authority.


bhag

(India, historical) A certain small division of land.


bhagdar

(India, historical) A landholder in possession of a bhag.


statewise

On March 12, 2018, then Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma had told Lok Sabha that in all, there are 3,686 centrally protected monuments/sites under the ASI. According to a statewise break-up provided by the government then, the largest number of these monuments/sites are in Uttar Pradesh (743).

2019 November 26, “Telling Numbers: Most ASI-protected temples in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu”, in The Indian Express:

(chiefly India) In terms of the state; by state.


molass

"Perhaps you're right,” said Sudhama, “but give me please a handful of puffed rice and a piece of molass.”

2004, Raja Rao, The Great Indian Way: A Life of Mahatma Gandhi, page 19:

Yet that was not the first molass stick I had tasted, for my mother had bought me molass sticks before.

2007, Nawal El Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero, page 71:

(India) A sweet hard candy made from molasses.


chapterwise

(India) By chapter; one chapter at a time.


paugul

(India, obsolete) An idiot; a simpleton.


shikargah

(India, historical) A hunting-ground, or enclosed preserve.

(India, historical) An arabesque pattern depicting a variety of figures and groups of animals.


mukt

corruption-mukt


teerwa

en-noun

teerwa (countable and uncountable, plural teerwas)

(India, obsolete) rate; custom; toll; rent; money lent


mirasidari

mirasidari (countable and uncountable, plural mirasidaris)

(India, historical) The tenure of a mirasidar.


bhadang

(India) A spicy snack made from puffed rice, peanut and coconut.


palua ladu

(India) A ball-shaped sweet made from arrowroot flour and sugar, well known in Bhadrak.


peskash

(India, obsolete) Alternative form of peshcush


samadh

(India) Alternative form of samadhi (“tomb of a holy person or saint”)


masala film

(India) A film that includes elements of many genres.


darpatnidar

(India, historical) A subtenant who leased land from a patnidar (and possibly further sublet it).


patnidar

(India, historical) A kind of tenant landholder in India.


bhurtote

(India, obsolete) A strangler (one who murders by strangling).


double ka meetha

From double + Hindi का मीठा (kā mīṭhā, “sweet”). "Double" is said to refer to the type of bread ("double roti") that swells up to twice the size after baking.

(India) An Indian bread pudding made from fried bread slices soaked in hot milk with spices including saffron and cardamom.


khubani ka meetha

Unadapted borrowing from Hindi ख़ुबानी का मीठा (xubānī kā mīṭhā, literally “sweet apricot”); compare Urdu خوبانی کا میٹھا (xobānī kā meṭhā).

ubor

ख़ुबानी का मीठा

cog

خوبانی کا میٹھا

Urdu خوبانی کا میٹھا (xobānī kā meṭhā)

(India) An Indian dessert made from dried apricots boiled with syrup.


kadala

en-noun

kadala (usually uncountable, plural kadalas)

Borrowed from Dravidian languages, compare Malayalam കടല (kaṭala), Tamil கடலை (kaṭalai).


Ramzan

Borrowed from Hindustani रमज़ान (ramzān) / رمضان (ramzān) / Bengali রমজান (romzan) and other South Asian languages, from Classical Persian رمضان (ramazān), from Arabic رَمَضَان (ramaḍān).

In Hyderabad, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee meets on the 29th of Ramzan to declare when Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated. Their decision is based on the sighting of the crescent.

2023 April 18, Sameer Khan, “Know Eid-ul-Fitr holidays in Telangana”, in The Siasat Daily:

(South Asia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) Alternative form of Ramadan.


chain-snatch

en-verb

chain-snatch (third-person singular simple present chain-snatches, present participle chain-snatching, simple past and past participle chain-snatched)

chain-snatches (present singular third-person)
chain-snatching (participle present)
chain-snatched (participle past)
chain-snatched (past)

(India) To snatch a gold chain (or sometimes a silver chain) from a woman (or a man) and run away.


Sangh

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
w:Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

(India, Indian politics, Hindutva) Ellipsis of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.


rasta roko

Borrowed from Hindi रास्ता रोको (rāstā roko, literally “stop the road”).

bor+

(India) a form of protest, usually involving a large number of people preventing vehicular traffic from using a busy thoroughfare.


rail roko

Borrowed from Hindi रेल रोको (rel roko, literally “obstruct the rail”).

Around 400 activists of various political parties were taken into custody when they tried to stage a day-long rail roko here on Monday.

(India) a form of protest, usually involving a large number of people blocking a railway.


Cow Hug Day

The Animal Welfare Board of India, a body under the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, has urged the public to celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’ saying that the cow was the backbone of Indian culture.

2023 February 9, “Bhopal: Diverse opinion on celebrating Valentine’s Day as ‘Cow Hug Day’”, in Free Press Journal, Mumbai, magazine:

A government body was forced to withdraw an appeal urging citizens to celebrate this Feb. 14 not as Valentine's Day, but as "Cow Hug Day," after widespread criticism.

2023 February 14, “It's Valentine's Day (not "Cow Hug Day") in India after all”, in CBS News:

(India) An annual event that actively encourages the show of love towards cows by hugging them.


crori

(India, obsolete) The possessor or collector of a crore, or ten million, of any given kind of money; especially an official collector of revenue to the extent of a crore of dāms, or 250,000 rupees, who was also at various times invested with the general superintendence of the lands in his district, and the charge of the police.


congee house

(India, historical) The temporary lockup of a regiment in India, used as a disciplinary measure.


munny

It is sub-divided into annas (or 16ths), of 3,600 square feet each; or when the land is for building purposes, into grounds (munnies) of 1/24 of a cawny each, as in the town of Madras.

1885, Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency, page 515:

(India, obsolete) A measure of land used in the neighbourhood of Madras.


hookah-burdar

(India, historical) A servant responsible for preparing the hookah (smoking-pipe).


jaidad

(India, historical) Territory assigned for the support of troops.


shinbin

(India, obsolete) An irregular portion of a log split lengthwise, used in constructing the side of a ship.


morninger

Coordinate term: eveninger

While most morningers missed the news, Japan Times brought out an extra edition and eveningers across the region gave graphic coverage to the assassination and the rise and fall of the Nehru family.

1991, Meenakshi Ahluwalia, Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, page 43:


Congressite

(India, politics) A member of the Indian National Congress, an Indian political party.


beoparry

(India, obsolete) A trader, especially a petty trader or dealer.


baksari

(India, historical) A soldier armed with a matchlock.


sainik

Borrowed from Hindi सैनिक (sainik), from Sanskrit सैनिक (sainika).

Sainiks have forcibly shut down the whole of Mumbai any number of times over the last four decades, for one reason or another.

2013, Vaibhav Purandare, Bal Thackeray & The Rise of the Shiv Sena:

"As far as the sainik colony is concerned, this demand is not coming from ex-servicemen from other parts of the country.

2016 June 18, “Pakistan may disrupt Amarnath Yatra, J&K deputy CM says”, in The Times of India:


sanguicel

en-noun

sanguicel (plural sanguicels or sanguiceis)

(India, obsolete) A kind of boat, or small vessel, used in war.


tashrif

Borrowed from Hindustani تشریف / तशरीफ़ (taśrīf), from Arabic تَشْرِيف (tašrīf).

(India, obsolete) A complimentary present; an honorarium.


poramboke

poramboke (countable and uncountable, plural porambokes)

(India) Land belonging to the government, on which no revenue is assessed.


unthriftness

And of my self, I may be a near example unto you of my folly and unthriftiness.

1537, Sir Thomas Wyatt, quoted in Senses of Style: Poetry before Interpretation, by Jeff Dolven, page 106:

Thus you see that impatience causeth idolatry, causeth murder, brought in rebellion and unthriftness, expelled from heaven, and banished out of paradise; which things are registered for our erudition, to teach us sufference, and to beware of anger, of fierceness, of envy, which be the works of the flesh.

1842, John Bruce, The Works of Roger Hatchinson, page 338:

It ignores the dangers of unthriftness and extravagance, incidental to too facile credit.

1984, T. Paranjothi, Committees and Commissions on Co-operation, page 21:

It was the “unthriftness and offensive indolence” of those who “can well feed and flutter, dress and dandle and carelessly chafe away with toddy and tobacco” which had caused “the Giver of all Good” to send “this disease of the potato."

2007, Lucille H. Campey, After the Hector, page 162:


aided school

(India, education) A private school that receives financial aid from the government.


sagwire

Arenga pinnata
Arenga pinnata#Translingual

(India, obsolete) gomuti palm (Arenga pinnata).


shoke

Borrowed from Hindi शौक़ (śauq), ultimately from Arabic شَوْق (šawq). Doublet of shiok.

(India, obsolete) A hobby, a favourite pursuit or whim.


shouq

Horses and dogs were his shouq at one time, but there's no thikauna in him; he has given up all his old shouqs, and his only shouq now is for politics.

1837, The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India, page 72:

(India, obsolete) Alternative form of shoke


arusha

(India) A fiber made from the plant Callicarpa candicans.


jaziya

jaziya (countable and uncountable, plural jaziyas)

Transliteration of Hindustani جزیہ / जज़िया (jaziyā), from Arabic جزية (jizya).


khesari

Lathyrus sativus
Lathyrus sativus#Translingual

(India) chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus).


jungle raj

(India, derogatory) A corrupt or incompetent rule.


Secy.

1882, United States. Army. Corps of Engineers, Chehalis River, Washington: Letter from the Secy. of War: Letter from the Secretary of War Transmitting Report from the Chief of Engineers on Lewis River, Wash., Covering Navigation, Flood Control, Power Development and Irrigation...:

O. M. Odell, Pres.; H. W. Chapman, Secy. Jersey City Traffic Club. Warren Gordon, Pres.;

1922, Traffic World and Traffic Bulletin, page 1442:

Memo., R. S. McNamara, Secy. of Def. to E. M. Zuckert, SAF, Feb. 23, 1962, subj.: The Air Force Manned Military Space Program.

1998, The Hypersonic Revolution: From Max Valier to Project PRIME, 1924-1967, page 314:

(chiefly US, India) Abbreviation of Secretary.


curnum

(India, obsolete) A village accountant or town clerk.


cuddoo

(India, obsolete) A pumpkin or muskmelon.


sinabaff

sinabaff (countable and uncountable, plural sinabaffs)

(India, obsolete) A kind of fine white material from Bengal, of uncertain manufacture.


griffinage

(India, obsolete) The state of being a griffin, newly arrived from Europe and unfamiliar with India.


Kangla

Blend of Hindi कंगाल (kaṅgāl, “poor, pauper, destitute”) + Bengali বাংলা (baṅla, “Bengal, Bengali language”).

blend

(India, derogatory, offensive, slang, ethnic slur) A Bangladeshi.


partyman

It was even rumored, that he had confessed; and the zealous partymen, who, no doubt, had secretly, notwithstanding their credulity, entertained some scruple with regard to the popish conspiracy, expressed great triumph on this occasion.

1757, David Hume, “[Charles II.] Chapter VI.”, in The History of Great Britain, under the House of Stuart, 2nd edition, volume II, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], published 1759, →OCLC, page 327:

England has partymen in profusion; in court-livery and sans-culottes: if a solitary, sedate republican should rise up in that country, they would unite and tear him to pieces […]

1826, Walter Savage Landor, Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men and Statesmen, 2nd edition, volume 2, page 360:

Conventions, of course, were composed mostly of the most active partymen.

2000, Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, Why America Stopped Voting: The Decline of Participatory Democracy and the Emergence of Modern American Politics, →ISBN, page 43:

[See title]

2023 July 11, “Expelled partymen may join us again if they apologise: AIADMK”, in Deccan Herald:

(dated outside India, politics) A partisan; a member of a political party or faction.


varsha

(India) The monsoon season according to the Hindu calendar.


huldee

For yellow dyeing the cloth is steeped during two hours in a vessel containing half a seer of huldee and a tola of papur khar ground together.

1870, John Matheson, England to Delhi: A Narrative of Indian Travel, page 477:


Porkistani

Blend of pork + Pakistani, or from Porkistan + -i.

(India, derogatory, offensive, slang, ethnic slur) A Pakistani.


ashvattha

Borrowed from Sanskrit अश्वत्थ (aśvattha).


gone case

gone case – something that cannot be saved (eg. he’s a gone case).

1991 August 9, Valerie Tan, w:The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, →OCLC, section 3, page 19:

That ex-lecturer-to-be confirm gone case liao.

2006, DanielS, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

don't worry, it is already a gone case, and nothing u can do about it but just watch.

2006, Kantian [pseudonym], soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

(Singapore, India, idiomatic) Someone or something that is deemed irredeemable, hopeless and beyond help; a doomed person or thing.


water camper

(India) A portable canister for water typically with a tap.


cut money

(India) A bribe charged by a politician for availing government service.


guldasta

(central Asia, India) A corner finial, usually in the form of a column topped by a flower shape.


sakin mauza

Borrowed from Hindi साकिन मौज़ा (sākin mauzā).

bor+

(India, law, revenue) resident of the village (in discussion or formerly mentioned)


sakin-deh

Borrowed from Hindi साकिन देह (sākin deh).

(India, law, revenue) inhabitant of the village (in discussion or formerly mentioned)


gulmohar

(India) Alternative form of gold mohur (“the plant Caesalpinia pulcherrima”)


soosie

en-noun

soosie (countable and uncountable, plural soosies)


criminal tribe

From criminal + tribe. First defined and introduced in Indian law by the Criminal Tribes Act 1871.

(historical, India) a caste or tribe in British India that is deemed by authorities in "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences", and was subjected to extensive police surveillance and registration.


pan-Indian

en-adj

pan-Indian (comparative more pan-Indian, superlative most pan-Indian)

more pan-Indian (comparative)
most pan-Indian (superlative)

Near-synonym: All India

It is going to be a pan-Indian film as it is also released in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

(chiefly India) Relating to, covering or serving most or all of India.


chhapri

(India) A mold or sieve used in manual papermaking.


sudder ameen

And it is hereby enacted, that in any zillah, in which the Governor in Council of Fort St. George deems it expedient to establish the zillah court, and the court or courts under subordinate judges or principal sudder ameens, at separate stations, it shall be competent to the said Governor in Council, by an Order in Council, to authorize the session judge to take cognizance of all criminal cases subject ordinarily to the jurisdiction of the subordinate courts, […]

1843, “Act No. VII. of 1843”, in East India. Acts Passed by the Honourable the President of the Council of India, and by the Right Honourable the Governor-General, for 1843; […] (Accounts and Papers; 328), [London]: Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, […], published 28 May 1845, →OCLC, section XLIV, page 11:

(India, historical) A high-ranking official in British India.


tongawalla

(India) The operator of a tonga (type of carriage).


mandadore

(India, obsolete) A leader or chief; superintendent.


toty

From Tamil [Term?], from a word meaning "dig".

(India, obsolete) A low-caste laborer hired as a messenger etc.


rubbee

Borrowed from Hindi [Term?] (literally “spring (season)”).

bor+

(India, archaic) Of or relating to the crops, or harvest of the crops, sown after the rains and reaped in the following spring or early summer.


dhooley

(India, obsolete) Alternative form of dooly (“basic Indian litter; stretcher; litter”)


Ram Lalla

Borrowed from Hindi राम लल्ला (rām lallā, literally “baby Rama”).

The idol of Rama at Ram Mandir, Ayodhya, depicting his child incarnation.


BNSS

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
w:Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

(India, criminal law) Initialism of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the official criminal procedure code of India.


walkalator

(US, India, Philippines, Malaysia) A moving walkway (a slow conveyor belt that transports people horizontally or on an incline in a similar manner to an escalator.)


avarna

Many enlightened savarnas opened their private temples to the avarnas in the years that followed 1925.

2005, P Radhakrishnan, Perfidies of Power, page 34:

In many parts of the country, Avarnas continue to be thought of as ‘downtrodden’, ‘unworthy’, ‘polluted’—‘untouchables’.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 16:

(India) Someone outside the caste system, especially a Dalit or member of a tribal group.


bhakri

Once the grains were dry, she ground them and made bhakris.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 93:

(India) A type of round, coarse flatbread, typically made from millet.


aldrop

Take lavatory door in a bath room. We normally provide aldrop from outside to keep it closed when not in use.

1969, Institution of Surveyors (India), Journal - Volume 10, page 28:

For aldrop complement centre hole punching the work-piece is held by hand on a supporting block under the fly press.

1970, India. Development Commissioner, Small Scale Industries, Report, page 334:

They are maintenance free and easy to install at site, provided with in-built high quality aldrop hold protector, stronger than other door frame material available in the market and are provided with two different types of hinge fixing arrangements to suite specific requirements.

2020, Ar. Radha K. Dhawad, “Sustainable Alternative Building Materials”, in Proceedings of First National Conference on Sustainability, page 235:

I had seen yesterday in Room no. 3 that the door had just a cheap aldrop on the inside.

2021, Madan Lal, A Homeland For Your Children:

As they inched closer, they could see the twelve-inch stainless steel Aldrop lock on the door.

2022, Nihal Ahmed, The Rogue Professor of Bangalore Metropolitan College:

(India) A type of bolt with a sliding shaft often found on doors.


malikana

[…] malikanas payable to a proprietor in lieu of surrender of all his proprietary rights, to a transferee, which is payable whether or not the lands are used for agricultural purposes; […]

1960, Babu Ram Misra, Indian Federal Finance, page 254:

(India) A payment made to a malik or landlord.