hoon

Borrowed from Hindi हून (hūn, “pagoda, a gold coin of Southern India”), from Sanskrit हून (hūna, “a kind of gold coin from a particular kingdom”).

derived

The plaintiff in his plaint states, that the first and second defendants' elder brother, Soobbiya Shetty, on the 8th Ashweeja Bahoola of the year Veya, mortgaged to him, for 2½ hoons, his two slaves, viz. a female Dher, named Honnoo, and a male Pardeshey, together with their offspring, and made them over to him; that while they were in his possession, Soobba Shetty died, and the first and the second defendants succeeding to his (Soobba Shetty's) property, they further executed a document to him for hoons 4-8-12, on account of a balance against themselves of rice, &c., making a total mortgage on the slaves of hoons 7-3-12.

1835 July 29, “Decree Passed by the Barcoor Moonsif, in Original Cause, No. 126 of 1835, on the 29th July 1835: Hossamunay Manddawanna Shetty, residing in the Hondady Village, and Brumawhar Mogany, in the Barcoor Talook, versus Sheevy Shetty, his younger brother, Honniya, both nephews of Hossamunay Pomma Shetty, and younger brothers of Soobbiya Shetty, residing in the said Hondady Village, and Bennaycoodra Krooshna Shetty”, in Slavery (East Indies). Return to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons Dated 22 April 1841;—for, Copy of the Despatch from the Governor-General of India in Council to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, Dated the 8th Day of February 1841 (No. 3), with the Report from the Indian Law Commissioners, dated the 15th Day of January 1841, and its Appendix Enclosed in that Despatch, on the Subject of Slavery in the East Indies, [London]: Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, published 26 April 1841, →OCLC, appendix IX, page 505:

(India, historical) A pagoda, a type of gold coin.


gunpowder

Possibly due to its smell resembling gunpowder during the British Raj.

/ˈɡʌnˌpaʊdə/

/ˈɡʌnˌpaʊdɚ/

Some restaurants try and give their dosas the "ethnic" touch by slipping along a small dish of mulaga podi-gunpowder mixed with oil as well, but that isn't always enough.

1989, Bombay: The City Magazine, page 26:

It was a hardcore Andhra lunch from a restaurant famous for its lunch meals. And that is where I had my first run-in with 'gunpowder'. And to be honest, I hated it.

2015 June 12, Priyadarshini Nandy, “South India's Spice Hero: How to Make the Famous Gunpowder”, in NDTV:

In fact, I’ve long suspected that the popularity of gunpowder or molagapodi outside South India has little to do with the burst of flavours it serves.

2020 May 27, Pooja Pillai, “The Back Burner: Homemade molagapodi is easier than you think”, in The Indian Express:

(India, informal) Idli podi/milagai podi; ground-up dry spices mixed with oil and ghee and served alongside idli or dosa.


DNB

Diplomate of National Board
w:Diplomate of National Board

(India, medicine, post-nominal title) Initialism of Diplomate of National Board.


liquorice

en-noun

liquorice (countable and uncountable, plural liquorices)

From licorice by association with liquor.

UK, Ireland, India, and South Africa standard spelling of licorice.


intimate

en-verb

intimate (third-person singular simple present intimates, present participle intimating, simple past and past participle intimated)

intimates (present singular third-person)
intimating (participle present)
intimated (participle past)
intimated (past)

From Latin intimare (“to put or bring into, to impress, to make familiar”), from intimus (“inmost, innermost, most intimate”), superlative of intus (“within”), from in (“in”); see interior.

der

I will intimate you when the details are available.


cloakroom

(British, Ireland, India) A room intended for holding luggage, as at an airport.


palanquin

Czech: palankin

Danish: palankin

Polish: palankin

From Portuguese palanquim (“Asian litter, litter-bearer”), from Odia ପାଲଙ୍କି (pālaṅki, “litter”), ultimately from Sanskrit पल्यङ्क (palyaṅka), variant of पर्यङ्क (paryaṅka, “bed, couch, litter”). Doublet of palki.

bor

At the end of two moneths I determined to go for Goa in the companye of two other Portingale Merchants, which were making readye to depart, with two Palanchines or little Litters, which are very commodious for the waye, with eight Falchines which are men hired, to carrie the palanchines, eight for a palanchine, foure at a time...

1588, Thomas Hickok translating Cesare Federici as The Voyage and Trauaile of M. Caesar Frederick, Merchant of Venice into the East India, the Indies, and beyond the Indies..., p. 10

Behold the hero of the scene,
 In bungalow and palankeen.

1885, Henry Austin Dobson, At the Sign of the Lyre, section 177:

'Sedan-chair! Put your 'ead in a bag. That was a palanquin. Don't yer know a palanquin when you see it?' said Ortheris with great scorn... What befell at that interview in the lonely pay-shed by the side of the half-built embankment, only a few hundred coolies know, and their tale is a confusing one, running thus... 'There was a palanquin, for the up-keep of which we were forced to pay nine-tenths of our monthly wage. On such mulctings Dearsley Sahib allowed us to make obeisance to him before the palanquin. What could we do? We were poor men. He took full half of our wages. Will the Government repay us those moneys?...'

1889 December, Rudyard Kipling, “The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney”, in Macmillan's Magazine:

The palanquin carries Pābūjī—and, according to the description on the par, he rides his mare mother on the palanquin...—towards Rāma's heaven.

1999, Alf Hitlebeitel, Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits, page 110:

(India, chiefly historical) An enclosed human-borne litter or sedan chair, a large box with a chair, couch, or bed raised on horizontal poles and used as a mode of transport.

palankin

an enclosed litter, particularly in Indian contexts — see also litter, sedan chair


ahata

(India) The musical sounds in nature and in Indian music, especially percussion


cutting

a cutting chai


first class

- How was your holiday? - It was first class.


SLR

(India, finance) Initialism of statutory liquidity ratio.


MLA

Wanglin Lowangdong, incumbent MLA of Borduria Bogapani trails in the constituency.

2019 May 23, The Hindu Net Desk, “Arunachal Pradesh Assembly results live updates | BJP wins 7 Assembly seats, leads in both LS seats”, in The Hindu, archived from the original on 2022-11-12:

MLAs past and present gathered for an event at Stormont on Friday to mark the agreement's 25th anniversary.

2023 April 7, Chris Andrews, “Good Friday Agreement: Use courage and vision of 1998, says George Mitchell”, in BBC News:

(British, Canada, India, politics) Initialism of member of the legislative assembly.


reservation

en-noun

reservation (countable and uncountable, plural reservations)

/ˌɹɛzəˈveɪʃən/

/ˌɹɛzɚˈveɪʃən/

From Middle French reservation, equivalent to reserve + -ation.

(India) The setting aside of a certain percentage of vacancies in government institutions for members of backward and underrepresented communities (defined primarily by caste and tribe).


NEET

National Eligibility Entrance Test
w:National Eligibility Entrance Test

(India) Initialism of National Eligibility Entrance Test.


ryot

17th century. From Hindi रैयत (raiyat, “peasant”), from Urdu رعیت (ra'iyat, “peasant”), from Classical Persian رَعِیَّت (ra'iyyat, “population, peasants”), from Arabic رَعِيَّة (raʕiyya, “flock, herd”).

der

We have seen, however, how the condition arose, namely, that the Government at first half-intended to make a permanent settlement direct with the ryots, but subsequently altered its intention and devolved this duty upon the zemindars.

1874, J. Westland, A Report on the District of Jessore: Its Antiquities, Its History, and Its Commerce:

Scattered about the grazing and arable country are now small towers of refuge, loop-holed for defense, to which ryots working in the fields, or shepherds tending their flocks, fled for safety in case of a sudden appearance of Turcoman marauders.

1887, Thomas Stevens, chapter III, in Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. II: From Teheran to Yokohama, London: Sampson Low […] :


FOB

en-noun

FOB (countable and uncountable, plural FOBs)

There has been an inordinate delay in starting work on the foot over bridge (FOB) with escalators in front of D.G. Vaishnav College on Poonamallee High Road in Arumbakkam. […] The FOB at P.H. Road, which is maintained by the state highways department, is one of seven similar facilities planned at various places in the city at a cost of Rs. 28 crore and being executed by the department.

2014 August 30, D. Madhavan, “Need for foot over bridge keenly felt”, in The Hindu:

(India) Initialism of foot overbridge: a pedestrian overpass.


USS

(India, historical, philately) Initialism of United States of Saurashtra.


outcry

outcry (countable and uncountable, plural outcries)

From Middle English outcry, outcri, outcrye, equivalent to out- + cry.
The verb is from Middle English outcrien.

to send goods to an outcry

(India, archaic, countable, uncountable) An auction.


yah

An alternative pronunciation, equivalent of yeah and yes.

Yah, we did go along but it turned out the wedding was a load of nonsense.

(US, UK, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia) Yes.


convent

From Middle English convent, variant of covent, from Old French covent, from Latin conventus, perfect participle of the verb convenio (whence ultimately convene), see con- + venio. Doublet of coven.


settlement

settlement (countable and uncountable, plural settlements)

(India, historical) An estate or district in Anglo-Indian Bengal where, instead of taking a quota of the year's produce, the government took a fixed sum several times a year from the local cultivators.


tuck

tuck (countable and uncountable, plural tucks)

From Middle English tuken, touken (“to torment, to stretch (cloth)”), from Old English tūcian (“to torment, vex”) and Middle Dutch tucken (“to tuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *teuh-, *teug- (“to draw, pull”) (compare also *tukkōną), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Akin to Old High German zucchen (“to snatch, tug”), zuchôn (“to jerk”), German Low German tuken (“to tug, pluck, grab and pull towards”), Old English tēon (“to draw, pull, train”). Doublet of touch.

cog

(British, dated, school slang, India, uncountable) Food, especially snack food.


erstwhile

“Scarcely had Alice reached her twentieth birthday, than she gave her erstwhile fiancée^([sic]) his formal congé.[…]”

1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Disappearance of Count Collini”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

As an aftermath of the erstwhile competition between companies, 41 goods depots served the Liverpool and Birkenhead docks in 1923.

1964 November, P. F. Winding, “Re-shaping the LMR's North Western Line - 2”, in Modern Railways, page 343:

Other erstwhile stalwarts are also wavering. Southampton had two of the best full-backs in the league last season but Ryan Bertrand has been below par this season and Cédric Soares made an uncharacteristic lapse that led to Stoke’s winning goal in Southampton’s last outing.

2017 October 14, Paul Doyle, “Mauricio Pellegrino yet to find attacking solution for stuttering Southampton”, in the Guardian:

(literary, law or India) Former, previous.


reminisce

en-verb

reminisce (third-person singular simple present reminisces, present participle reminiscing, simple past and past participle reminisced)

reminisces (present singular third-person)
reminiscing (participle present)
reminisced (participle past)
reminisced (past)

/ˌɹɛm.əˈnɪs/

Back-formation from reminiscence, from Latin reminīscēns, present participle of reminīscor (“remember”).

And now when life begins to get the best of me
I reminisce these childhood memories

1994, Iris Dement, "Childhood Memories" (on the album My Life)

He reminisced the old Parvati who was now this Parvati.

2006, Amitava Bhattacharya, Selected Novels of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, page 34:

She fondly reminisced the two years before marriage when Frank served in the US Army.

2012, Satish C. Bhatnagar, Epsilons and Deltas of Life: Everyday Stories, volume 1, page 16:

(transitive, chiefly India) To remember fondly; to reminisce about.


latrine

From French latrine (“latrine”), from Latin lātrīna.

(India, otherwise military) Any facility or device used for urination or defecation, whether toilet, lavatory, or outhouse.

lletrina

a very simple toilet facility, usually just a pit or trench — see also toilet, outhouse


tribal

From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s.

This right had been accepted by relative tribals but misobeyed and effaced by non-tribals and foreign peasants.

1983, Human Science: Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India, page 141:

[…] the legendary Adivasi leader Jaipal Singh Munda who came to represent the tribals not just of his native plateau, but also of all of India […]

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


DPC

(India, law enforcement) Initialism of District Police Chief. A police officer in charge of a police district in the Kerala State Police.


peaceful

Derived from the derogatory term religion of peace, which is used against Islam itself for its association with violent attacks by Islamic extremists, and alleged support and lack of condemnation against them by certain Muslim communities.

They only have to use a bit of code to name those people; nowadays they call them “peacefuls”. A smirking euphemism is all it takes to sail through Twitter’s filter, and keep the hate-speech flowing.

(India, Islam, Islamophobic, Internet slang, offensive) a Muslim; especially a violent member of a radical Islamist group.


HP

Sense "home page" is a borrowing from Japanese HP (HP, “home page”), from English home page.

Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh#English

(India) Abbreviation of Himachal Pradesh, a state of India


customer

From Middle English customere, custommere, from Old French coustumier, costumier (compare modern French coutumier), from Medieval Latin custumarius (“a toll-gatherer, tax-collector”, noun), from custumarius (“pertaining to custom or customs”, adjective), from custuma (“custom, tax”). More at custom. By surface analysis, custom + -er.

der

His houses […] are seized on by the Customer.

1609, Danvers, Letters, i. 25; and comp. Foster, ibid. ii. 225

The Customer should come and visit them.

The several affronts, insolences, and abuses dayly put upon us by Boolchund, our chief Customer

(India, historical) A native official who exacted customs duties.


curd

en-noun

curd (countable and uncountable, plural curds)

From Middle English curd, a metathetic variant of crud, crudde (“coagulated substance”). Doublet of crud.


crib

en-verb

crib (third-person singular simple present cribs, present participle cribbing, simple past and past participle cribbed)

cribs (present singular third-person)
cribbing (participle present)
cribbed (participle past)
cribbed (past)

From Middle English crib, cribbe, from Old English crib, cryb, cribb, crybb (“couch, bed; manger, stall”), from Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib, wickerwork”), from Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-, *gerbʰ- (“bunch, bundle, tuft, clump”), from *ger- (“to turn, twist”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kräbbe, Krääb, Krääf (“crib”), West Frisian krêbe (“crib”), Dutch krib (“crib, manger”), German Krippe (“rack, crib”), Danish krybbe (“crib”), Icelandic krubba (“crib”). Doublet of crèche. The sense of ‘stealing, taking notes, plagiarize’ seems to have developed out of the verb.
The criminal sense may derive from the 'basket' sense, circa the mid 18th century, in that a poacher could conceal poachings in such a basket (see the 1772 Samuel Foote quotation). The cheating sense probably derives from the criminal sense.

inh

She calls on the neighbours, she's out half the time and doesn't answer the telephone, and when I start cribbing she just laughs.

1957, L.P.Hartley, chapter XI, in Hireling, page 90:


touching

From Middle English touching, touchinge, touchynge, equivalent to touch + -ing.

(India, in the plural) A snack served with alcoholic drinks in an informal environment.


senti

en-adj

senti (comparative more senti, superlative most senti)

more senti (comparative)
most senti (superlative)

(India, Pakistan, Philippines) Sentimental, emotional.


bearer

desc

→ Bengali: বেয়ারা (beẏara), বেহারা (behara) (borrowed from sense 4)

From Middle English berer, berere, from Old English berere (attested in Old English wæterberere (“waterbearer”)), equivalent to bear + -er.

The bar of the watch-guard worked through the buttonhole, and the watch—Platte's watch—slid quietly on to the carpet; where the bearer found it next morning and kept it.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, “Watches of the Night”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio, published 2005, page 60:

(India, dated) A domestic servant in charge of household goods and clothing; a valet.

(India) A waiter in a hotel or restaurant.


cooler

(India, countable) Short for air cooler; evaporative cooler; desert cooler; swamp cooler


pandit

From Sanskrit पण्डित (paṇḍita). Doublet of pundit.

(India, Nepal) An honorary title for a learned man or scholar.


scheduled

scheduled caste; scheduled tribe; scheduled language

(India) Included in a Schedule of the Indian Constitution, and as such is recognised by the government as eligible for special protection and consideration; afforded special concessions


Congress

Congress (disambiguation)#Places
United States Congress

Indian National Congress
w:Indian National Congress

(India) Clipping of Indian National Congress.


Jay

Borrowed from Hindi जय (jay, literally “victory”).


mata

Borrowed from Sanskrit माता (mātā, “mother”). Doublet of mater and mother.

A respectful title for a female spiritual leader or for a wife, mother, or grandmother of a male spiritual leader.

While possession is usually limited to Bhilala men, the mata entered women too, endowing them with the power of clairvoyance, enabling them to identify the evil spirits or daakans in their midst. The mata spoke through the possessed, forecasting the future, directing people and events for her proper propitiation.

1995, Amita Baviskar, In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts Over Development in the Narmada Valley, Bombay, […]: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 98:

A mother (also used as a term of address for a woman).


Northeast

(India) The northeastern region of India including Assam and its surrounding states.


Sh

(India) Alternative form of Sh. Abbreviation of Shri.


South

en-proper noun

South (countable and uncountable, plural Souths)

English surname, from the adjective south. Compare Southern.

A placename
(India) The southern states of India.

A placename
The southern states of India.


Union

(locomotive): Derived from the name of the only U.S. company to use that configuration.

(chiefly India, with determiner, law) Alternative form of union


tonga

uder

Hindi टाँगा (ṭāṅgā)

Coming up along the Cart-Road a tonga passed me, and my pony, tired with standing so long, set off at a canter.

1890, Rudyard Kipling, Plain Tales from the Hills:

When his tyre went flat, he leapt off and shouted for a tonga.

1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 13:

The Muslim ladies who earlier moved out in covered palanquins, dolis and muhafas or completely veiled coaches and victorias are now obliged to go about in tongas, rikshaws and buses leaving aside the earlier scruples.

1972, Abulhasan 'Ali Nadvi, The Musalman, page 42:

(India) A light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage used for transportation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.


Independence Day

Independence Day
Independence Day (India)
Independence Day (Philippines)

(India) A national holiday in India observed annually on August 15, commemorating the nation’s independence from Great Britain in 1947.


mali

Borrowed from Hindi माली (mālī, “gardener”), from Sanskrit माली (mālī, “wreath-maker, garland-maker; florist; gardener”), मालिन् (mālin, “florist; gardener”), from माला (mālā, “wreath, garland; chaplet, crown”).

der

[H]ence the slow progress hitherto made in the cultivation of such produce of the garden as is generally held in estimation by the European portion of the community, left as it generally is, to the simple Hindoo mallee (or gardener,) it is not to be wondered at, that our bazars want what are deemed the more delicate articles of vegetable production for the table; […]

1840, G. T. Frederic Speede, Indian Hand-book of Gardening; Containing Directions for the Management of the Kitchen and Flower Garden, etc. etc. in India: […], Calcutta: W. Thacker & Co. St. Andrew's Library, →OCLC, page 1:

Prizes were awarded to ten other mallees for best samples of vegetables, fruits and flowers, and last though not least we have to note, that a prize of two rupees was awarded to the mallee of Robert Fulton, Esq., of Sultangunge, for a remarkably fine bunch of grapes, clearly showing that either the soil of Mr. Fulton's garden, the climate of Sultangunge, or the skill of that gentleman's gardener, are highly favorable to the growth, and bringing to maturity of this delicious fruit.

1848, “Report of Exhibitions of Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers and Agricultural Produce, Held at Bhaugulpore, on 11th February and 25th May, 1848. (Communicated by Major [T. E. A.] Napleton, Honorary Secretary Branch Agri-Horticultural Society.)”, in Journal of the Agricultural & Horticultural Society of India, volumes VI, part II (Correspondence and Selections), number 3, Calcutta: Bishop's College Press, →OCLC, page 125:

I sent down dhobies, sweepers, cooks, and mallees, last to dig trenches for burying the dead, when burning was not possible.

1871 November 29, “Cachar: Further Correspondence on the Subject of the Looshai Raids and the Consequent Hostilities (in Continuation of Paper, No. 398, of 1871)”, in Accounts and Papers: […], volumes X (East India—continued), [London]: […] The House of Commons, […], published 28 May 1872, →OCLC, page 301:

He found, as he expected, that the poor girl was crying. And, as always, an Indian close outside the window, a mali in this case, picking up sounds.

1924 June 4, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, chapter XXII, in A Passage to India, London: Edward Arnold & Co., →OCLC, part II (Caves), page 203:

A nearly naked mali, watering-can in hand, was moving in the jungle of flowers like some large nectar-sucking bird.

1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, →OCLC; republished as chapter 2, in Burmese Days (ebook no. 0200051h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, November 2015:

The grounds of the estates were extensive enough to provide each mansion with a surrounding park, and these were, if anything, even more varied in design than the houses they enclosed – for the malis who tended the gardens, no less than the owners themselves, vied to outdo each other in the fancifulness of their plantings, creating here a little patch of topiary and there an avenue of trees, trimmed in the French fashion; […]

2008, Amitav Ghosh, chapter 5, in Sea of Poppies, London: John Murray, →ISBN, pages 91–92:

(India, South Asia) A member of a caste in South Asia whose traditional occupation is gardening; hence, any South Asian gardener.


namaskar

en-noun

namaskar (countable and uncountable, plural namaskars)

Borrowed from Sanskrit नमस्कार (namaskāra), from नमस् (namas, “bow, obeisance”) + कार (kāra, “action”).

af

To every one I met I made my namaskar, and on entering my village, I made namaskar to a bowri, (a man of low caste.)

1847, “Letter from Mr. Stubbins”, in The General Baptist repository, and Missionary observer, page 286:

I bowed down, did namaskar and said a prayer.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 228:

Navinchandra greeted the Counsellor with a namaskar; Buddhidhan responded solemnly.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 83

(India) The use of the greeting in which one puts one's hands together and bows slightly; greeting with a namaste.


cabin

→ French: cabine (see there for further descendants)

→ Japanese: キャビン (kyabin)

→ Korean: 캐빈 (kaebin)

From Middle English caban, cabane, from Old French cabane, from Medieval Latin capanna (“a cabin”); see further etymology there. Doublet of cabana and cabane.

There’s Kaul’s boss, the overweight owner of a pharmaceutical firm who spends his days wolfing down junk food in the privacy of his cabin.

2008 November 15, Tony Thakaran, “Dasvidaniya: A bittersweet slice of middle-class life”, in Reuters Blogs, archived from the original on 2008-12-18:

(India) A private office; particularly of a doctor, businessman, lawyer, or other professional.


DD

(India, broadcasting) Abbreviation of Doordarshan, a state public broadcaster of India.


H

Coordinate term: M (“Muslim”)

(India, Hinduism, Internet slang) Abbreviation of Hindu; mostly used by Indian Muslim netizens primarily towards Hindutva supporters.


M

en-noun

M (countable and uncountable, plural Ms)

Coordinate term: H (“Hindu”)

(India, Islam, Internet slang) Initialism of Muslim; mostly used by Hindutva netizens primarily towards Islamist supporters and Muslim militants.


sais

From Hindi (Hindustani), from Arabic سَائِس (sāʔis, “stableman, groom”), from سَاس (sās, “to tend a horse”).

der

Not one of them [horse dealers] will venture a horse, he is about to sell, in the stables of the intended purchaser, unless attended by one of his own syces, or grooms, who both knows and is known by the animal. If the horse be very old, or naturally dull, the syce takes care to ply him with spices and other stimulants; and if vicious, opium, and other anodynes are given; so that the horse is absolutely in a state of disguise.

1808, Thomas Williamson, Oriental Field Sports; being a Complete, Detailed, and Accurate Description of the Wild Sports of the East … In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Printed by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co. Cleveland-Row, St. James's; for Edward Orme, Bond-Street, the corner of Brook-Street, and B. Crosby and Co. Stationers' Court, →OCLC, page 213:

4th Troop 1st Brigade—3 rank and file, 1 syce, 17 horses, killed; […]

1849 April 19, “General Return of Casualties in the Army of the Punjaub in the Action at Goojerat on the 21st February 1849, between the British Forces under the Personal Command of General the Right Hon. Hugh Baron Gough, G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in India, and the Rebel Army under the Sirdar Chuttur Singh and Rajah Shere Singh”, in The Indian News, and Chronicle of Eastern Affairs, number 160, London, →OCLC, page 179:

Then all trace of him was lost, until a sais met me on Simla Mall with this extraordinary note:— […]

1887 April 25, Rudyard Kipling, “Miss Youghal’s Sais”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink and Co.; London: W. Thacker & Co., published 1888, →OCLC, page 25:

THE DUTIES OF THE SAIS OR GROOM. […] Now, if the good house-mother's proudest boast is that not even "the cattle within her gate" fail to feel her kindly care, she will often find it necessary to take an active part in teaching the sais his duty, and seeing that the horses receive proper attention. […] The old plan of a sais and a grass-cutter to each horse is a thing of the past, and the number of saises or grooms should have reference merely to the amount of harnessing and out-work necessary during the day.

1890, Flora Annie Webster Steel; Grace Gardiner, “The Duties of the Servants”, in The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook: Giving the Duties of Mistress and Servants, the General Management of the House and Practical Recipes for Cooking in all its Branches, Edinburgh: F. Murray, OCLC 228145908; reprinted Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, 978-1-108-02193-7, page 68

But apart from the story of the havildar, my own syce, a hillman who attends my pony, has actually seen two ghosts, with one of whom he held a long conversation.

1906, Charles A[tmore] Sherring, “Superstitions”, in Western Tibet and the British Borderland; the Sacred Country of Hindus and Buddhists, with an Account of the Government, Religion, and Customs of its Peoples, London: Edward Arnold, →OCLC, page 100:

Dinner, dinner, dinner … but when he returned to the house for it, Mahmoud Ali had drifted away in his turn, to speak to his sais.

1924, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, A Passage to India, London: Edward Arnold & Co., →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1952, →OCLC, page 13:

The horse also, as if it had its own premonitions, refused to get on to those rickety planks, though the rest of the party had negotiated them safely. The sais (horse attendant), who had no such anxieties, crossed ahead of us and struggled for some minutes to drag the poor frightened animal, with myself on its back, across the chasm.

1974, Apa Pant, “Dreams and Destinations”, in A Moment in Time, Bombay: Orient Longman, →OCLC, page 76:

What is this wonderful job you have, to throw away your education for? Instructor is it? You're a syce in a stableyard! Is this all you care for all that I've done for you?

1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill, →ISBN, Act 1, page 24:

We have not been able to get a good syce for our animal, and have had to make do with a young and inexperienced fellow.

1987, Sara Banerji, The Wedding of Jayanthi Mandel, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., →ISBN:

Each pony had his sais, his groom, who lived and ate and slept with the animal, and had betted a good deal more than he could afford on the result of the game. There was no chance of anything going wrong, but to make sure, each sais was shampooing the legs of his pony to the last minute. Behind the saises sat as many of the Skidars' regiment as had leave to attend the match […]

2010, Rudyard Kipling with James Daley, comp., “The Maltese Cat”, in Great Horse Stories, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, →ISBN, page 95:

(chiefly India) A groom, or servant with responsibility for the horses.


PPL

Paper Products Limited
w:Paper Products Limited

(India) Initialism of Paper Products Limited.


ACC

Associated Cement Companies
w:Associated Cement Companies

(India) Initialism of Associated Cement Companies.


UC

en-noun

UC (countable and uncountable, plural UCs)

(India, Hinduism) Initialism of upper caste.


KP

KP (countable and uncountable, plural KPs)

(countable, India, Hinduism) Initialism of Kashmiri Pandit.


IRS

Indian Revenue Service
w:Indian Revenue Service

(India): Initialism of Indian Revenue Service.


UL

(India) Abbreviation of Uttaranchal, a state of India.


CSI

(India) Initialism of Computer Society of India.


Jn

Alternative form: JN

(rail transport, India) Abbreviation of junction.


tatty

[…] tatties are placed in front of the verandahs to keep out the rains during the monsoon; […]

1855, Pharoah and Co, A Gazetteer of Southern India, page 553:

(India) A woven mat or screen hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters.


Cong

(India) Clipping of Indian National Congress.


shroff

A British Indian variant of saraf, from Urdu صراف (sarrāf) and Persian صراف (sarâf), from Arabic صَرَّاف (ṣarrāf).

The sheraffs are poore and begerly.

1618, cited in William Foster, The English Factories in India..., page 8

Amongſt whom were Shroffs, or Money-changers.

1698, John Fryer, “Views the Malabar and Canatick Coasts up to Bombaim”, in A New Account of East-India and Persia, in Eight Letters. Being Nine Years Travels, Begun 1672. And Finished 1681. […], London: […] R[obert] R[oberts] for Ri[chard] Chiswell, letter I (Containing a Twelve Month’s Voyage Through Divers Climates), page 52:

The breakfast soon dispatch'd, they're off,
To borrow money from a shroff.

1816, 'Quiz', The Grand Master..., canto ii, ll. 18 f.

Racing leads to the shroff quicker than anything else.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Broken-Link Handicap’, Plain Tales from the Hills, fol. 2005, page 110

(India) A provider of financial services, especially a small-scale independent banker or money changer or (historical) a local expert at detecting bad coin.


shroff

en-verb

shroff (third-person singular simple present shroffs, present participle shroffing, simple past and past participle shroffed)

shroffs (present singular third-person)
shroffing (participle present)
shroffed (participle past)
shroffed (past)

I represented... that the money could not be divided till it was shroffed.

1757 July 7, Robert Clive, letter, cited in John Malcolm, Life of Robert, Lord Clive, Vol. I, page 278

The potential revenues of China are immense, but they are ‘shroffed’... by every hand through which they pass.

1906 April 14, Saturday Review, page 451:

(India, transitive) To act as a shroff, especially (historical) to inspect coins to detect debasement, counterfeits, clipping, etc. for a commission.


teapoy

→ Bengali: টিপাই (ṭipai)

→ Kannada: ಟೀಪಾಯಿ (ṭīpāyi)

PIE word
 *tréyes
Borrowed from Hindi तिपाई (tipāī), Urdu تپائی (tipāi, “teapoy”), from a merger of Sanskrit त्रिपाद (tripāda, “tripod”) + Classical Persian سه پای (sih-pāy, “tripod”), with the spelling of the first element influenced by association with tea. Sanskrit त्रि (tri, “three”), the first element of त्रिपाद (tripāda), is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”); while Classical Persian پای (pây, “foot”), the second element of سه پای, is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds (“foot”), from *ped- (“to step; to walk; to fall; to stumble”). Doublet of tripod and tripus.

ref

From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York, USA.

der

The teapoy, derived from the Hindi/Persian phrase denoting a three-footed table, supported a tea set or tea-related objects. Not all teapoys were tripod-like tables or sold singly. The Carneses imported lacquer teapoys in sets. These sets could be easily stacked in a corner of the drawing room and brought out at teatime to hold a teacup, a set, or a caddy. The Carneses purchased lacquered teapoys sets for four dollars in China and probably sold them for twice that amount in America.

2019, Nancy E. Davis, “Afong Moy Presents Chinese Objects for the Home”, in The Chinese Lady: Afong Moy in Early America, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part II (The Show), pages 107–108:

(originally India) Originally, a three-legged decorative stand or table; now, especially, one with recesses for holding tea caddies and/or a tea service.

টিপাই

three-legged decorative stand or table; especially, one with recesses for holding tea caddies and/or a tea service


signage

en-noun

signage (usually uncountable, plural signages)

[T]he department is basically involved in providing basic amenities and the minimum requirements such as clearing trekking tracks, providing signages, basic accommodation or tents and so on.

2008 June, “Institutional, Governance and Policy Framework for Tourism Development in the Islands”, in Rethink Tourism in the Andamans: Towards Building a Base for Sustainable Tourism, Bangalore, Karnataka: EQUATIONS [Equitable Tourism Options], section 5.1.2.2 (Department of Environment and Forests), page 78:

External signages invite customers from different distances. Main signage makes appeal to customers approaching store from a distance of 170–180 feet, and the storefront signages makes impact from a distance of 60–70 feet.

2009, K. V. S. Madaan, “Store Layout, Design and Visual Merchandising”, in Fundamentals of Retailing (Retail Education), New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education, →ISBN, page 203:

From 'parking' to 'exit' or 'washrooms' to 'please pay here' – a signage is at every retail point.

2010, Swati Bhalla, Anuraag S., “Part 2: Display Basics”, in Visual Merchandising (Retail Education), New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education, →ISBN, page 44:

We arrive at a place which has a signage with archaic lettering. It says "Twenty Thousand Leagues," and in simple lettering below, it says "Fine dining."

2012, J. L. Dobias, Cripple Mode: Hot Electric, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 612:

When he was old enough to read, he saw signages outside beautiful buildings: 'Indians and dogs not allowed.'

2016, Madhu Gurung, “Bajai”, in The Keeper of Memories, Noida, India: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN:

(countable, chiefly India, elsewhere regarded as nonstandard) A sign, a signboard.


IPC

(India, criminal law) Initialism of Indian Penal Code, the former official criminal code of India.


shola

At daylight […] we left the Sisipara bungalow, and rode for several miles through a valley interspersed with sholas of rhododendron trees.

1862, Markham, Peru and India, page 356:

Here and there in the hollows were little jungles; sholas, as they are called.

1876, Sir M. E. Grant-Duff, Notes of Indian Journey, page 202:

(India, historical) A wooded ravine; a thicket.


floater

From float + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

kelluja

person who physically floats in a gas or liquid

paikanvaihtaja

person without a fixed or lasting affiliation, position, or role

leijuri

thing which moves from place to place, as if floating

Replace your leather sandals with rubber slippers, sandals or floaters. They don't soak water well and why in this world would you want to spoil your expensive leather footwear in puddles?

2017 September 1, Mansi Mahendru, “How to Dress Up during Monsoon: Six Tips”, in Divesh Nath, editor, Woman’s Era, volume 44, number 1050, New Delhi: Paresh Nath, Delhi Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16, columns 1–2:

A thing which physically floats in a gas or liquid.


schroff

Borrowed from Persian صراف (sarâf) or Urdu صراف (sarrāf), from Arabic صَرَّاف (ṣarrāf).


sneaker

Related to how quiet the shoes are. sneak + -er

(India, archaic) A large cup (or small basin) with a saucer and cover.


terrace

Borrowed from French terrasse, from Old Occitan terrassa, from terra (“land”). Doublet of terrasse.

(chiefly India) The roof of a building, especially if accessible to the residents. Often used for drying laundry, sun-drying foodstuffs, exercise, or sleeping outdoors in hot weather.


encounter

en-verb

encounter (third-person singular simple present encounters, present participle encountering, simple past and past participle encountered)

encounters (present singular third-person)
encountering (participle present)
encountered (participle past)
encountered (past)

From Middle English encountren, from Anglo-Norman encountrer, Old French encontrer (“to confront”), from encontre (“against, counter to”), from Late Latin incontrā (“in front of”) itself from Latin in (“in”) + contrā (“against”).

Speaking to the media, Reddy said, "He (Accused in 6-year-old rape and murder case) should be encountered. We will nab the accused and will encounter him. We will stand by the victim's family. We console them and will provide aid to the family. We will encounter him (the accused)."

2021 September 15, “Telangana Minister says, rapist of six-year-old will be nabbed and killed in encounter”, in Catch News, retrieved 2023-02-25:

(transitive, euphemistic, India) To kill or execute someone extrajudicially.


encounter

Telangana Labour and Employment Minister Malla Reddy on Tuesday said that the guilty person in the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Hyderabad "will be nabbed and will be killed in an encounter".

(India) An extrajudicial killing or execution.


amma

Related to Tamil அம்மா (ammā, “mother”), Hindi अम्मा (ammā), Malayalam അമ്മ (amma), Kannada ಅಮ್ಮ (amma, “mother”) Telugu అమ్మ (amma, “mother”), Sinhalese අම්මා (ammā, “mother”), or Classical Syriac ܐܡܐ (emma, “mother”).


arson

arson (third-person singular simple present arsons, present participle arsoning, simple past and past participle arsoned)

arsons (present singular third-person)
arsoning (participle present)
arsoned (participle past)
arsoned (past)

From Anglo-Norman and Old French arson, from the verb ardoir, from Latin ardeō (“to burn”). Compare ardent.

(transitive, chiefly India) To illegally set fire to; to burn down in a criminal manner.


sampan

... by these central poles the litter, or as it is here called, the Sampan, is supported on the shoulders of four men.

1785, George Forster, Journey from Bengal..., page 3:

(India, chiefly historical) Alternative form of jampan.


sudden death

en-noun

sudden death (countable and uncountable, plural sudden deaths)

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

An old sinner, in shape of a khansamah, is the genius of the place, and has rarely aught else to tempt the tired traveller with than a “sudden death”—a fowl caught running in the yard, and dished up forthwith; […]

1866, Frederick F. Wyman, From Calcutta to the Snowy Range, page 330:

Our next dish is one which has shown no signs of scarcity since we reached India, — the ever present chicken, or “sudden death,” as it is called here, from the Anglo-Indian custom of cooking a fowl that has been running about the garden half an hour before.

1892, Mary Thorn Carpenter, A Girl's Winter in India, page 209:

(India, historical, slang) A meal of a chicken freshly slaughtered and spatchcocked.


tope

1868?, James Grant, First Love and Last Love
Concealed among the long rank grass of the mango tope the three lurkers watched the gate of the camp; but though many passcd out and in, the rider on the bay mare was not one of the number.

In addition, a memorandum was kept containing receipts and issues of toddy drawn at a toddy tope.

2011, Chandra Mallampalli, Race, Religion and Law in Colonial India:


tope

They found him strongly posted near the fortress of Deeg, in the midst of bogs, tanks, and topes, and formidably defended by artillery.

1857, Cassell's Illustrated History of England, page 269:


CBI

(India) Initialism of Central Bureau of Investigation.


dipper

desc

→ Kashubian: dyper (Canada, United States)

From Middle English dippere; equivalent to dip + -er.

(UK, India) The control in a vehicle that switches between high-beam and low-beam (i.e. dips the lights), especially when used to signal other vehicles.


gymkhana

→ Catalan: gimcana

→ Italian: gincana

→ Portuguese: gincana

→ Spanish: yincana

/d͡ʒɪmˈkɑnə/

From Hindustani گیند خانہ (gendxānā) / गेंदख़ाना (gendxānā, “racquet court”), from گیند / गेंद (gend, “ball”) + خانہ / ख़ाना (xānā, “court”). Influenced by gymnastics and gymnasium.

These privileged gentlemen have a fine club on the Fateh Maidan, a suburb of Hyderabad city, and they enjoy sports and races at the local gymkhana, in fact, they have a very good time, if one may judge by their appearance.

1914, John Law, chapter XVI, in Modern Hyderabad (Deccan), Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co:

(India, Myanmar, dated) A place of public resort for athletic games, etc.

(India, Myanmar, dated) A meeting for such sports.


talisman

Perhaps a corruption of some Arabic word.

(India, obsolete) A mullah (Islamic religious scholar).


bioscope

→ Kurtöp: བེས་ཀོབ (beskop)

From bio- + -scope. Modern use in South Africa is under the influence of Afrikaans bioskoop.

Like their Western brothers, groups of native youths [in Burma] from out-lying places set out cheerfully on Saturday nights to visit the nearest "Bioscope", as they call the cinema[.]

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 175:

(South Africa, India, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Pakistan, dated) A cinema or movie theatre.


malum

Related to Arabic مُعَلِّم (muʕallim, “teacher”).

(India, nautical, historical) The mate serving on a ship with English officers and native crew.


knowledgeable

(India) A person who has knowledge; an informed party.


bajra

From Hindi बाजरा (bājrā). Compare bajri from Gujarati બાજરી (bājrī).

When food was scarce, the children would subsist on a lump of jaggery and one bajra roti each.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 94:

Cenchrus americanus
Cenchrus americanus#Translingual

Pennisetum glaucum
Pennisetum glaucum#Translingual

(India) Pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus, syn. Pennisetum glaucum).


basti

Borrowed from Hindi बस्ती (bastī, “settlement”).

bor+

There is a dreary bustee in the neighbourhood which is said to make the most of any cholera that may be going.

1891, Rudyard Kipling, The City Of Dreadful Night:

With the population growth in the jhopadpattis, favelas, bastis and bidonvilles higher than any other environment in the world, we are seeing the emergence of Megaslums, where one million urban poor live in an area measuring just 1.5 square miles.

2012, Sarwant Singh, New Mega Trends: Implications for Our Future Lives, page 63:

Her mother-in-law, in her half-delirious state, was sure that their basti would be broken down and had aggressively begun to push her sons to buy a plot of land elsewhere.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 294:


ayacut

en-noun

ayacut (countable and uncountable, plural ayacuts)

/ɑːjʌˈkʌʈʈu/

From Telugu, coined from two words: ఆయము "aayamu" /ɑːjʌmʊ/ (living area) + కట్టు "kattu" /ˈkʌʈʈu/ (barrier, dam).

(India) The area served by an irrigation project such as a canal, dam or a tank.


infructuous

en-adj

infructuous (comparative more infructuous, superlative most infructuous)

more infructuous (comparative)
most infructuous (superlative)

(obsolete or Pakistan, India) Not fruitful.


bindaas

bindaas (comparative more bindaas, superlative most bindaas)

more bindaas (comparative)
most bindaas (superlative)

Transliteration of Bombay Hindi बिंदास (bindās), from Marathi बिनधास्त (bindhāsta, literally “without fear”).

der

'So … how come you aren't scared?'
 Sheila laughed, 'Who me? Forget it. I'm far too bindaas. […]

2005, Shobhaa De, Strange Obsession, Penguin Books India, →ISBN, page 72:

Well, I play Sonia, extremely modern, hip, bindaas, tough and can take care of herself. My look suits the character.

2008 October 6, Minissha Lamba, quotee, Outlook, volume 48, number 40, →OCLC, page 80:

(India, informal) Independent and carefree; admirable, cool.


mora

(India) Alternative form of morah (“stool”)


needful

From Middle English needeful, nedeful, from Old English nēodful (“necessary; earnest; zealous”). Equivalent to need + -ful. Cognate with Dutch noodvol, German notvoll.

inh

(India, chiefly archaic in other dialects) Anything necessary or requisite.


MTR

Mavalli Tiffin Room
w:Mavalli Tiffin Room

(India) Initialism of Mavalli Tiffin Room.


pass out

en-verb

pass out (third-person singular simple present passes out, present participle passing out, simple past and past participle passed out)

passes out (present singular third-person)
passing out (participle present)
passed out (participle past)
passed out (past)

He passed out of the Madras University in 1990.


shaitan

From Arabic شَيْطَان (šayṭān, “satan, devil”). Doublet of Satan.

bor

Dust columns are called shaitans or devils by the Beloochees, who have a superstitious feeling with regard to them.

1888, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:

The dust borne in these shaitans of wind is often carried for vast distances […]

1925, Henry Michael Collins, From pigeon post to wireless, page 158:


touch wood

And the reds are going to avoid relegation this year, touch wood.

If it′s ever me (Jesus Christ, touch wood!), I don′t want you bringing me flowers.

1988, Janette Turner Hospital, chapter I, in Charades, page 314:

The English press has been very good to me, touch wood.

2008 March, Anna Friel with Deanna Kizis (interviewer), “A Conversation with: Anna Friel”, in Women′s Health, page 88:

I know I have my faults and one of them is my impatience and I also cannot tolerate people who are ill, mainly because I am so very rarely ill—“Touch wood,” I said out loud and touched my head at the same time.

2009, Lee Hobin, chapter I, in The Male Survival Guide to Pregnancy, page 59:

(idiomatic, UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India) Hopefully; said while touching something wooden, to avert superstitious bad luck from what has just been said.


chinky

Since I come from the North-eastern part of India myself and belong to a minority race, I too have suffered from racism, at least in its milder forms. I’ve been called "chinky", "momo", "chowmein", and more.

2017 May 23, Alana Golmei, “Let’s talk about racism”, in Hindustan Times, Delhi:

However, what matters to them is the intention of such a question, especially when they are invectively referred to as chinky and other remarks that are considered to be derogatory

2021, Thongkholal Haokip, “From ‘Chinky’ to ‘Coronavirus’: racism against Northeast Indians during the Covid-19 pandemic”, in Asian Ethnicity, page 356:

(India, slang, offensive) A person from Northeast India.


tara

The only silver coin of this empire reported so far is a Tara of the time of Pratāpa devaraya.

1979, The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India, volume 41, page 70:

(India) A small silver coin current in South India at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese.


durzi

From Hindustani درزی / दर्ज़ी (darzī, “tailor”), from Persian درزی (darzi, “tailor”).

Two darzees attended upon the Maharaj Kumar to make last minute adjustments and fittings.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 43:

I wanted to instruct the durzi that all my dresses must have a neckline that covered my scar.

(India) A tailor, especially a personal one.


ganja

en-noun

ganja (usually uncountable, plural ganjas)

→ Afrikaans: ganja

→ English: gunja

→ Tiwi: kanja

→ French: ganja

→ German: Ganja

→ Italian: gangia

→ Japanese: ガンジャ (ganja)

→ Portuguese: ganja

desc

→ Serbo-Croatian: га̑нџа, gȃndža, га̏нџа, gȁndža

→ Spanish: ganya

Borrowed from Hindi गांजा (gāñjā), ultimately from Sanskrit गञ्जा (gañjā, “hemp”). First use appears c. 1800.

It must be the ganja, it's the marijuana / That's creeping up on me, why I'm so high

2009, “Must Be the Ganja”, in Relapse, performed by Eminem:

(slang, especially India, Singapore, Caribbean) Marijuana, as used for smoking.


-ite

From French -ite, from Old French, from Latin -ītēs, from Ancient Greek -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs).

-iet

used to form names of minerals and rocks

-lainen

a native or resident of a specified place

Brooklynite, Delhiite, Jerusalemite, Keralite, New Jerseyite, Seattleite, Seoulite, Sydneyite, Wisconsinite, Wyomingite; also see ashramite, hostelite

(chiefly US, India) Used to form demonyms.


capsicum

Borrowed from New Latin capsicum, from Ancient Greek καψικός (kapsikós, “like a box”), from Latin capsa (“box”).

der

Celery is often combined with carrots and onions in gently fried aromatic base preparations for other dishes (French mirepoix, Italian soffritto, Spanish sofregit; in the Louisiana Cajun “trinity” of aromatics the carrots are replaced by green capsicums).

2004, Harold McGee, chapter 6, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:

(Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore) The non-spicy fruit of the above plants, the bell pepper, contrasting with spicy varieties known as chilli.


capitation

en-noun

capitation (countable and uncountable, plural capitations)

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

Learned borrowing from Latin capitātiōnem, from caput (“head”).

lbor

(India, euphemistic) A donation made to an educational institution to obtain admission.


communal

en-adj

communal (comparative more communal, superlative most communal)

more communal (comparative)
most communal (superlative)

Borrowed from French communal, from Late Latin commūnālis, from Latin commūnis. Doublet of cominal.

communal violence

communal politics

(India) Defined by religious ideas; based on religion.


footpath

From Middle English foot path, footpath; equivalent to foot + path. Compare Saterland Frisian Foutpaad (“footpath”), West Frisian fuotpaad (“footpath”), Dutch voetpad (“footpath”), German Low German Footpadd (“footpath”), German Fußpfad (“footpath”).

(Australia, New Zealand, India) A paved path located at the side of a road for the use of pedestrians.


memsahib

Coordinate term: sahib

She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible

1911, Frances Hodgson Burnett, chapter 1, in The Secret Garden:

This might be accomplished literally through missionary work (Plate 5.1), but that tended to be unattractively pro-active and spinsterish, and it was rather the memsahibs, the mothers, wives and daughters of the white officers and administrators, who were to instil civilisation, through the example of their own moral refinement.

1997, Richard Dyer, White, →ISBN, page 184:

(India, historical, as a respectful term of address) A white European woman in colonial India.


tuck shop

One way is to make the sandwiches then choose the three most popular sandwiches to sell in the tuck shop.

1989, Jenny Ridgwell, Louise Davies, Skills in Home Economics: Technology, Heinemann Educational Publishers, page 11:

If possible a school must have a place for a tuck shop.

1996, K. S. Sidhu, “School Organisation And Administration”, in India, Sterling Publishers, page 90:

You had a small amount of pocket money and this increased as you went along and there was a tuck shop where you could spend your earnings.[…]I became a senior boy and then a pefect and it became my responsibility to run the tuck shop.

2005, Susan K. Moore, I Remember Bare Bottoms and Stinging Nettles, page 108:

In this case, the problem is that the tuck-shop has stopped making money and will have to close if you can′t find out what is wrong.

2009, R. Burger, B. P. Carels, S. Els, FET College Series: Life Orientation: NCV 4, South Africa: Pearson Education, page 163:

However, a trend for healthier tuck shops, selling fruit in particular, had already emerged a few years before legislation was introduced.

2009, Maria Cross, Barbara MacDonald, Nutrition in Institutions, UK: Wiley, page 49:

‘That note you′re holding is an order for the Crobost Stores, to restock the tuck shop.’

2011, Peter May, The Blackhouse, UK: Quercus, page 23:

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Singapore, India) A shop selling confectionery, especially one in or near a school.


achar

en-noun

achar (countable and uncountable, plural achars)

From Hindustani اچار / अचार (acār), from Classical Persian آچار (āčār).

(India) A spicy and salty pickle in Indian cuisine.


presidency

presidency (countable and uncountable, plural presidencies)

From Medieval Latin praesidentia. By surface analysis, president + -cy.

(British, India, historical) One of the three original provinces of British India.


topper

From Middle English toppor, equivalent to top + -er.

(India) The student who achieves the highest score in an examination.


thana

From Hindi थाना (thānā), from Sanskrit स्थान (sthāna, “military outpost”). Doublet of Thane.

der

To this talk the dacoits agreed, and we had no trouble at the Thana, and could eat melons in peace, sitting upon our charpoys all day long.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘At Howli Thana’, Black and White, Folio Society, published 2005, page 387:

Accompanied by some other young men from the village, he made rounds of the police thana and military base to get a release order.

2015, Arupa Patangia Kalita, translated by Ranjita Biswas, Written in Tears, Harper Perennial, page 70:

(India) A police station, or a police jurisdiction.


dacoit

Borrowed from Hindustani ڈکیت / डकैत (ḍakait), from ڈاکا (ḍākā) / डाका (ḍākā, “gang-robbery”).

1893, Bithia Mary Croker, "The Dâk Bungalow at Dakor" in "To Let" etc., Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1906, p. 118, https://archive.org/details/toletcroker00crok
[…] she had harangued us on the subject of fever and cholera and bad water, had warned us solemnly against dacoits, and now she was hinting at ghosts.

If any village failed in its tribute U Po Kyin took punitive measures—gangs of dacoits attacked the village, leading villagers were arrested on false charges, and so forth—and it was never long before the amount was paid up.

1934, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Burmese Days:

The history of northern India is studded with the names of notorious outlaw dacoits who roam the hills in the name of Kali, robbing the rich, comforting the poor, and in general spreading terror and rough justice.

1954 July 19, “The Terror of Kings”, in Time:

On the way back Boyles led him down a lampless lane, and sure enough, a pair of dacoits pounced on them.

1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 49:

“The notorious forest brigand, bandit, murderer and dacoit, Veerappan, along with his entire gang, has been shot dead,” Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State, announced.

2004 October 20, Catherine Philp, “India's Bandit King is betrayed”, in The Times, London:

A very athletic female dacoit was arrested in North Nazimabad in Karachi after she vaulted over a nine-foot wall, following her unsuccessful attempt at armed robbery in the house of a retired banker.

2007 April 21, “EDITORIAL: Pakistani Phoolan Devi’s short career”, in Daily Times, Pakistan:

(chiefly India, Pakistan, Myanmar) A bandit or armed robber, especially in former parts of British India.


dacoit

en-verb

dacoit (third-person singular simple present dacoits, present participle dacoiting, simple past and past participle dacoited)

dacoits (present singular third-person)
dacoiting (participle present)
dacoited (participle past)
dacoited (past)

(chiefly India) To commit armed robbery.


hing

(India) Asafoetida, especially when used as a seasoning.


haat

(India) A local open-air market held regularly.


prepone

prepone (third-person singular simple present prepones, present participle preponing, simple past and past participle preponed)

prepones (present singular third-person)
preponing (participle present)
preponed (participle past)
preponed (past)

(chiefly India, transitive) To reschedule to a time earlier than the current scheduled time.


picar

(India, obsolete) A retail dealer; an intermediate dealer or broker.


scissor

From Middle English cysour, cysoure, cysowre, altered from sisours (“scissors”); ultimately from Latin caedere (“to cut”); current spelling influenced by Latin scindere, scissus (“to split”).


pilu

(India, Pakistan) Alternative form of peeloo (“kind of tree”)


tide over

tide over (third-person singular simple present tides over, present participle tiding over, simple past and past participle tided over)

tides over (present singular third-person)
tiding over (participle present)
tided over (participle past)
tided over (past)

I had a certain grim pleasure in reading letters from two or three literary men, asking for work ‘as secretary or companion,’ or failing that, for the loan of a little cash to ‘tide over present difficulties.’

1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan: or The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, published 1896, →OCLC, page 75:

In responding, J. P. Knight, the Traffic Manager, emphasised the company's desire to meet the wants of Brighton in every way and to develop traffic, while the question of a reduction in fares would be considered as soon as they had tided over their most pressing difficulties.

1952 December, R. C. Riley, “By Rail to Kemp Town”, in Railway Magazine, page 832:

I will therefore suggest a way to tide over this difficulty.

2001, Swami Parmeshwaranand, Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas:

(transitive, obsolete outside India) To endure; weather.


arbit

en-adj

arbit (comparative more arbit, superlative most arbit)

more arbit (comparative)
most arbit (superlative)

Although he seemed arbit at first, a few minutes of talking exposed a decent and well-mannered human being.

(India, colloquial) Strange, random or weird.


topi

(India) A taqiyah (skullcap worn by Muslims etc.)


liquidizer

[…] tissue was disrupted using a Moulinex liquidizer and 0-5% bovine serum albumin was added to the isolating and resuspending media.

1976, Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, volume 3, issues 1-3, page 154

She bought herself a second-hand Mini and in no time at all was busy as a bee, driving herself around London with pots and pans, cooking knives and liquidizers all piled up on the back seat.

2013, Rosamunde Pilcher, Flowers In the Rain & Other Stories, →ISBN:

Place a cupful of the soaked beans in a liquidizer, add a cupful of cold water and blend.

2013, Leah Leneman, The Tofu Cookbook: Over 150 quick and easy recipes, →ISBN:

(Australia, India, UK) A machine to chop or puree food; a blender.


Bharatiya

Transliteration of Hindi भारतीय (bhārtīya),

translit

(chiefly India) Indian: a person nationally identified with the Republic of India.


Bharatiya

en-adj

Bharatiya (comparative more Bharatiya, superlative most Bharatiya)

more Bharatiya (comparative)
most Bharatiya (superlative)

(India) Indian, especially in a nationalist context.


milk powder

en-noun

milk powder (countable and uncountable, plural milk powders)

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


derma

Learned borrowing from New Latin derma, from Ancient Greek δέρμα (dérma, “skin, hide”). Doublet of derm.

der

(India, Philippines, colloquial) Short for dermatologist.


condole

en-verb

condole (third-person singular simple present condoles, present participle condoling, simple past and past participle condoled)

condoles (present singular third-person)
condoling (participle present)
condoled (participle past)
condoled (past)
condole (infinitive)

PIE word
 *ḱóm
Learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin condolēre, the present active infinitive of condoleō (“to feel severe pain, suffer greatly; to suffer with or feel another’s pain, condole”), from Latin con- (prefix denoting a being or bringing together of several things) + doleō (“to suffer physical pain, hurt; to be sorry, grieve for, deplore, lament”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to divide, split”)).

der

Nay, compaſsion it ſelfe, comes to no great degree, if vvee haue not felt, in ſome proportion, in our ſelues, that vvhich vvee lament and condole in another.

1624, John Donne, “23. Meditation”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 599:

God is Serious in hearing our Prayers, and delivering us from our dangers, and removing our troubles, and beſtovving his Mercies. VVhen vve are afflicted he is afflicted vvith us, […] He condoleth their miſery vvhen he is forced to chaſtiſe them: […]

1649, Richard Baxter, “An Exhortation to Seriousness in Seeking Rest”, in The Saints Everlasting Rest: Or, A Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints in Their Enjoyment of God in Glory. […], London: […] Rob[ert] White, for Thomas Underhil and Francis Tyton, […], →OCLC, part III, section 22, paragraph 4, page 366:

[H]e began to retire himſelf to his Chamber to pray for, and pity them [his relations]; and alſo to condole his own miſery; he would alſo walk ſolitarily in the Fields, ſometimes reading, and ſometimes praying: and thus for ſome days he ſpent his time.

1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress as Originally Published by John Bunyan: Being a Fac-simile Reproduction of the First Edition, London: Elliot Stock […], 1875, →OCLC, page 4:

If Julia were then Married to Agrippa, vvhy ſhould our Poet make his Petition to Iſis, for her ſafe Delivery, and aftervvards, Condole her Miſcarriage; vvhich for ought he knevv might be by her ovvn Husband?

1680, John Dryden, “The Preface to Ovid’s Epistles”, in Ovid, Ovid’s Epistles, […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:

[W]hether it be natural to the Indians to be thus melancholy, or the effect of their Slavery, I am not certain: But I have alvvays been prone to believe, that they are then only condoling their misfortunes, the loſs of their Country and Liberties: […]

1697, William Dampier, chapter V, in A New Voyage Round the World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, page 127:

As ſoon as vve had fired, they ſet up the horrideſt Yell, or Hovvling, partly raiſed by thoſe that vvere vvounded, and partly by thoſe that pitied and condoled the Bodies they ſavv lye dead, that I never heard any thing like it before or ſince.

1720, [Daniel Defoe], The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, of the Famous Captain Singleton, London: […] J[ohn] Brotherton, […], J[ohn] Graves […], A[nne] Dodd, […], and T[homas] Warner, […], →OCLC, pages 69–70:

Permit me to condole thoſe misfortunes, vvhich have occaſioned ſo unhappy a difference betvveen you, and the reſt of your family: And to offer my aſſiſtance, to enable you to make the beſt of vvhat has happened.

1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXVIII. Colonel Morden, to Miss Cl[arissa] Harlowe.”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume VII, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC, page 120:

Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition, condoled the death of veteran film serial writer and writer Ravi Vallathol. […] In his condolence message, he said that like Gopinathan Nair [i.e., Bharat Gopy], he made a huge contribution to the culture.

2020 April 25, “Actor Ravi Vallathol Passes Away”, in MixIndia, archived from the original on 2021-11-18:

(archaic or obsolete except India, often formal) To express regret or sorrow over (an undesirable event or other misfortune); to bemoan, to grieve, to lament.

surra

to express regret or sorrow over (an undesirable event or other misfortune) — see also grieve, lament


DH

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu#English

(India) Abbreviation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.


mousambi

Citrus limetta
Citrus limetta#Translingual

(India) A sweet lime (citrus), Citrus limetta.


peon

From a combination of Middle French pion, peon and Spanish peón, both from Late Latin pedōnem (“pedestrian”). Doublet of pawn.

(India, historical) A messenger, foot soldier, or native policeman.


matrimonial

/mætɹɪˈməʊnɪ.əl/

From Middle French matrimonial, also matrimony + -al.

classified advertisement
classified advertisement

(chiefly India) A classified advertisement describing a person who wishes to find a marriage partner.


garce

(India, obsolete) A unit of volume or weight for rice, etc.


dand

(India) A kind of push-up in Indian gymnastics.


burra

Borrowed from Hindi बड़ा (baṛā, “large, important”).

The most burra of burra sahibs resided in spacious, columned villas within the exclusive enclave of Alipore.

1997, John H. Esterline, Mae H. Esterline, Innocents Abroad: How We Won the Cold War, page 27:

Later she served the curried meal on an English blue and white flow-blue platter. “Spicy like my Maharanee. A burra meal, fit for a prince of India!”

(India) Big or important, used as a respectful honorific.


Britisher

"Why now, I expect," said the American, "you would not shoot me in cold blood, although you are a Britisher, I guess."

1833, Frederick Chamier, The Life of a Sailor, J. & J. Harper, page 215:

[…] and as he spoke, there was just a soupçon of foreign accent in the pronunciation of the French vowels, a certain drawl of o's and a's, that would have betrayed the Britisher to an observant ear.

1906, Baroness Orczy, chapter VI, in I Will Repay, London: Greening & Co, page 88:

French newspapers carried today a notice that all Britishers between the ages of 15 and 65 have been interned in special camps. Women and sick men have not been interned.

1940 August 16, “France Interns Britishers”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, page 2:

Even in the heart of London, Britishers boast you're never far from the countryside—only a few stories up!

1959 August 6, “Nixon's Triumphal Return” (2:40 from the start), in Universal Newsreels (32), episode 63, spoken by narrator (Ed Herlihy):

From what we've heard, some of the gayest, hottest and most unusual bedroom scenes have resulted from a stewardess accepting the stiff and proper advance of a Britisher.

1967, Trudy Baker, Rachel Jones, Donald Bain (uncredited), Coffee, Tea, or Me?: The Uninhibited Memoirs of Two Airline Stewardesses, New York: Bantam Books, page 248:

A lot of people have made the very valid point that it is a bit rich for a Britisher to criticise Indian food as being bland!

2020 October 9, Sudha G Tilak, quoting Edward Anderson, “Row over 'insult' to Indian dish Kamala Harris likes”, in BBC News:

(now chiefly Canada, US, India) A Briton.

(India) The British colonial authorities; a European member of the British Raj, especially an officer from the colonial authorities.


revenue land

(India) agricultural land that may not be used for industrial or residential purposes


vote bank

(India, politics) A section of an electorate that will vote for a particular party or formation, come what may.

base

group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates


fitment

en-noun

fitment (countable and uncountable, plural fitments)

As already stated, the Wage Board had recommended revised wage scales, revised categories and fitment of workmen in their respective categories on the revised wage scales as from November 1, 1960.

1969, India Supreme Court, Indian Factories and Labour Reports, volume 19:

(India) The categorisation of an employee, for the purpose of calculating salary or allowances.


churmuri

From East India, typical in West Bengal.

(India) A light snack food made from puffed rice seasoned with onions, spices, pepper, etc.


amah

From Portuguese ama (“female nurse”), from Medieval Latin amma (“wet nurse, amma”), perhaps an alteration of Latin mamma, of imitative origin, or from Ancient Greek.

(India) A woman employed to look after children; (formerly) a wet nurse.


aldea

Borrowed from Spanish aldea and/or Portuguese aldeia.


Pakis

But I′d rather remember the batsmanship of the Pakis.

1999, Outlook, volume 5, numbers 12-24, page 258:

(Australia, India) The Pakistan cricket team.


polo-neck

/ˈpəʊləʊ ˌnɛk/

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

From polo (“ball game where two teams of players on horseback use long-handled mallets to propel the ball along the ground and into their opponent’s goal”) + neck.

compound

(British, India) A high collar covering the neck.

rolák

high collar covering the neck — see also turtleneck

(British, India) A light type of shirt with such a collar.


HM

(India, government) Initialism of Home Minister.


podar

(India, obsolete) A cash-keeper, especially an officer attached to a treasury, responsible for weighing money and bullion and appraising the value of coins.


sanad

From Hindi सनद (sanad), from Arabic سَنَد (sanad).


didi

Borrowed from Hindi दीदी (dīdī, literally “an elder sister, used as a form of respect”).

bor

(India) A respectful term of address to any familiar older female.


doolie

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


banyan

From Portuguese baniano, from Arabic بَنِيَان (baniyān), from Gujarati વાણિયો (vāṇiyo, “merchant”), from Sanskrit वाणिज (vāṇijá), from earlier वणिज् (vaṇíj, “merchant, trader”). The name appears to have been first bestowed popularly on a famous tree of this species growing near Bandar Abbas, under which the Bannians or Hindu traders settled at that port, had built a little pagoda. Doublet of bunnia.

Banyan in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

(India, Pakistan) A vest; an undershirt; a singlet.


communally

en-adv

communally (comparative more communally, superlative most communally)

more communally (comparative)
most communally (superlative)

Crucial sections like 153 A, 153B, 295 A, and 505 of the IPC [Indian Penal Code] that specifically look at hate crimes and communally- charged^([sic]) offences are missing from the FIR [first information report].

2023 August 1, Sukanya Shantha, “Police Focuses on RPF [Railway Protection Force] Constable's 'Mental Illness', Erases Mention of Possible Hate Crime from FIR”, in The Wire, archived from the original on 2023-08-02:


credit-deposit ratio

en-noun

credit-deposit ratio (plural credit-deposit ratios)

(India, finance) The proportion of loan-assets created by banks from the deposits received.


central excise

central excise (countable and uncountable, plural central excises)

(India) The department concerned with tax on goods manufactured or produced.


mooli

Borrowed from Hindi मूली (mūlī, “[Indian] radish”) (feminine of मूल (mūl)), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀫𑀽𑀮 (mūla), from Sanskrit मूल (mūla).

Fresh vegetables... most in use among natives are—Gájar, carrot... Múlí, radish (Raphanus sativus, L.).

1868, B.H. Powell, Handbk. Econ. Products Punjab, I. iii. 260/1:

Particularly delicious was mooli stuffed paratha—rich, flaky and filled with a fragrant grated radish mixture.

This is thanks to the introduction of a wider range of radish varieties into supermarkets, especially the long-rooted ‘mooli’ types from Japan.

(chiefly UK and India, Indian cuisine) Synonym of daikon, particularly its Indian varieties.


torchlight

torchlight (countable and uncountable, plural torchlights)

(countable, India, Malaysia, Nigeria) A torch or flashlight.


batta

batta (countable and uncountable, plural battas)

(India, dated) The discount on uncurrent coins.

On the day previous to their entry into the place, the men had shown a spirit of insubordination, refusing to proceed until some promise was given that they should get their extra battas.

The Asiatic journal and monthly register for British and foreign India, China, and Australasia (volume 28)

(India, dated) Extra pay; especially an extra allowance to an English officer serving in India.


crorepati

Borrowed from Hindustani करोड़पति / کروڑ پتی (karoṛpati).

(India) Someone whose net worth is greater than one crore (ten million) rupees or other local currency.


godown

→ Burmese: ဂိုဒေါင် (guidaung)

Hindustani:

→ Hindi: गोदाम (godām)

→ Urdu: گودام (godām)

/ˈɡoʊ̯daʊ̯n/

Borrowed from Malay gudang, from Tamil கிடங்கு (kiṭaṅku, “store room”).

1694, Fort St. George Diary and Consultation Book, entry for 30 April, 1694, Madras: 1918, p. 45,
Ordered that the new House in the Fort be forthwith built according to a modell now produced an approved, being 110 foot in length and 55 foot in breadth to be built on the East side the Fort at 18 Foot distance from the godown wall, and at equal distance from the north and south walls.

They retired round the corner of the godown and watched Willems curiously through the night, till the short daybreak was followed by the sudden blaze of the rising sun, and Almayer's establishment woke up to life and work.

1896, Joseph Conrad, chapter VII, in An Outcast of the Islands, London: T. Fisher Unwin […], →OCLC, part I, page 79:

There is a sort of village square with wood and palm-leaf native shops grouped round about it; behind this stands a godown for the rice beside the river bank. This godown was empty at the time, and it was here that the party was accommodated.

1950, Neville Shute, chapter 4, in A Town Like Alice, London: The Reprint Society, published 1952, page 101:

At last a certain merchant purchased the weedy little garden in the center of the Old Quarter and built godowns and shops upon its flower beds.

1987, Gene Wolfe, chapter XXXIII, in The Urth of the New Sun, 1st US edition, New York: Tor Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 196:

Sam Vimes awoke from a pig's nightmare to find himself lying on a pile of sacks in a godown in the docks.

2011, Terry Pratchett, Snuff, page 307 in hardback

(India, East Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong) A warehouse.


filmi

(India, music) Music written especially for Bollywood films.


untouchable

(India) A member of the lowest and most despised caste in traditional Indian society.


toolkit

(India, politics) A set of guidelines or instructions.

(India, politics, derogatory) Instructions to organise a protest.


chow mein

chow mein (countable and uncountable, plural chow meins)

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

Borrowed from Taishanese 炒麵／炒面 (cau² men⁵, “stir-fry noodles”).

Since I come from the North-eastern part of India myself and belong to a minority race, I too have suffered from racism, at least in its milder forms. I’ve been called "chinky", "momo", "chowmein", and more.

2017 May 23, Alana Golmei, “Let’s talk about racism”, in Hindustan Times, Delhi:

(India, slang, offensive, countable) A person from Northeast India.


industrial tribunal

industrial tribunal (plural industrial tribunals)

(law, India, dated in England and Wales) A tribunal with jurisdiction to hear labour disputes.


dharna

dharna (countable and uncountable, plural dharnas)

ln December 1974, Morarji Desai, gave a threat of staging a dharna inside the Lok Sabha chamber. ln June 1975, Morarji Deshmukh, the Jana Sangh leader, stated that there had to be a Delhi Bandh to compel the Prime Minister to resign.

2005, Je Varalakṣmi, Varalakshmi Jnapathy, Indira Gandhi: Woman of India's Destiny, Gyan Publishing House, →ISBN, page 115:

[…] house-tax having been imposed on the natives during Lord Minto's government […] the Brahmins resolved to try the virtue of a dharna; […] The local government was exceedingly perplexed; for, besides the risk of hundreds perishing, there was the certainty of a famine, from the cessation of agricultural labour if the dharna continued.

1854, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers's Miscellany of Useful and Entertaining Tracts, Edinburgh: W. and R. Chambers, page 30:

(India, specifically) A fast undertaken at the door of an offender, especially a debtor.


saar

The server did not look at him but watching the outer door he asked him "What do you want saar?"

1979, Indira Parthasarathy, translated by Ka. Naa. Subramanyam, River of Blood (Kuruthipunal), 2nd edition, New Delhi: Wikas Publishing House, page 17:

"Yes saar. Yes, saar." he said, perspiring. "No saar. Not long. Yes, saar. At once, saar."

1997, Shashi Tharoor, “Scheduled Castes, Unscheduled Change”, in India: From Midnight to the Millennium, New York: Arcade Publishing, published 2006, →ISBN, page 100:

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling


jodi

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *yewg-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *yugtós
Sanskrit युक्त (yukta)
Prakrit 𑀚𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀢 (jutta)
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti
Sanskrit -अयति (-ayati)
Prakrit -𑀏𑀇 (-ei)
Prakrit 𑀚𑁄𑀟𑁂𑀇 (joḍei)
Prakrit 𑀚𑁄𑀟 (joḍa)
Hindi जोड़ी (joṛī)bor.
English jodi
Borrowed from Hindi जोड़ी (joṛī) or Marathi जोडी (joḍī); possibly through Bollywood.

etymon

Just over five years after coming together at the top of the Indian lineup, they already boast among the greatest-ever numbers for an opening partnership in the format. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, to many, in particular in India, are the ‘Jodi No. 1’ of the 2010s...

2019 January 30, “‘Jodi No. 1’: Dhawan’s Special Post for ‘Partner in Crime’ Rohit”, in The Quint:

For the last seven years, they have been projected as India’s political jodi number one.

2021 May 6, Rajdeep Sardesai, “A political and policy blow to the Centre”, in Hindustan Times :


Ayush

(India) Ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, Unani, siddha, Sowa, Rigpa, and homeopathy, collectively.


double-decker

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

Indian MSM include self-identified gay men (Western acculturated), kothis (men who tend to be the receptive male partner in anal and oral sex and typically have more effeminate mannerisms), panthis (men who tend to be the insertive male partner in anal and oral sex), and double deckers (men who are both receptive and insertive partners). While MSM may self-identify as kothi, the terms panthi and double-decker are generally given by kothis to their male partners based on their sexual roles.

2011 December 14, Beena Thomas et al., “HIV in Indian MSM: Reasons for a concentrated epidemic & strategies for prevention”, in The Indian Journal of Medical Research, volume 134, number 6, →DOI, →ISSN, →PMID, page 921:

A double-decker is a term used for someone who functions as both. Double-deckers and Kothis have a high risk of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases according to studies among different MSM sub-groups in the nation.

2016 June 6, “Understanding LGBTQ+: An exhaustive explainer on gender and sexual identities”, in The News Minute:

Participants were either kothi (feminine acting, usually the receptive sexual partner) or double-decker (either insertive or receptive sexual partner; usually has male and female partners) at screening, and were required to speak English, Tamil (in Chennai), or Hindi (in Mumbai) fluently.

2021 April 14, Steven A Safren et al., “Strengthening resilience to reduce HIV risk in Indian MSM: a multicity, randomised, clinical efficacy trial”, in The Lancet Global Health, volume 9, number 4, →DOI, →PMID, page e448:

(India, LGBTQ slang) a man who both penetrates (top) and is penetrated (bottom) in sex with other men; sometimes also has relationships with women and/or presents masculine as well as feminine mannerisms and appearances.


morcha

Borrowed from Hindi मोर्चा (morcā, “[political] front”).

bor+

How often do we take out a morcha or go on a hunger strike to protest against the appalling conditions of our roads […]

2006, V. Raghunathan, Games Indians Play: Why We Are the Way We Are, New Delhi: Penguin Books:

(India) A gathering of like-minded people protesting for a cause.


bailable

(of an offence) For which bail is permitted.

(specifically, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia) For which bail must be granted unless in special circumstances.


outgo

en-noun

outgo (countable and uncountable, plural outgos or outgoes)

PIE word
 *úd
The verb is derived from Middle English outgon (“to go out, depart, leave; to come out, emerge; to escape; to protrude; of a sword: to be drawn; to emanate from (a place); to accompany”), from Old English ūtgān (“to go out”), Proto-West Germanic *ūtgān (“to go out”), equivalent to out- + go.
Compare Middle English outwenden (“to go out, depart, leave; to escape; to be emitted, fly out from; of a weapon: to be drawn”), which, like modern outgo, had the past tense and past participle form outwent.
The noun is derived from modern English out- (prefix meaning ‘away from; toward the outside of’) + go. Sense 1 (“cost, expenditure, or outlay”) was probably modelled on income.
cognates
* Scots outgae
* West Frisian útgean
* Dutch uitgaan
* German Low German utgahn
* German ausgehen
* Swedish utgå

prefix

My farm outgoes for the first season were, for implements, seed, work, &c., $14 72½.

1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Economy”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 60:

The secret of success lies never in the amount of money, but in the relation of income to outgo; as if, after expense has been fixed at a certain point, then new and steady rills of income, though never so small, being added, wealth begins.

1860, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Essay III. Wealth.”, in The Conduct of Life, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 101:

[T]he word "income" means, as already shown, that which has come in, and not that which might have come in, but did not. If expenditure means what has been paid out, or outgoes, then income means what has come in, or receipts.

1912 July 12, Joseph Cross, District Judge, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, “Mutual Benefit Life Ins. Co. v. Herold, Internal Revenue Collector”, in The Federal Reporter […] (National Reporter System, United States Series), permanent edition, volume 198, St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., published 1913, →OCLC, page 215:

Net income ('profits') is the difference between income and outgo.

1918 June 3, Joseph McKenna, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States (delivering the court’s opinion), quoting the Government’s submissions, “Lynch, Collector of Internal Revenue for the District of Minnesota, v. Turrish”, in Ernest Knaebel (reporter), United States Reports: Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court at October Term, 1917 […], volume 247, New York, N.Y.: The Banks Law Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 227:

Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo.

1933 March 4, Franklin D[elano] Roosevelt, “Franklin D. Roosevelt: Inaugural Address”, in Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States from George Washington 1789 to Richard Milhous Nixon 1969 (91st Congress, 1st Session, House Document; 91-142), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, published 1969, →OCLC, page 237:

Under a refinancing scheme, initiated by the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC), banks which refinance the construction of godowns for FCI [Food Corporation of India] are to be refinanced up to 80% of their outgos.

1977 March 7–13, “Food”, in Chanchal Sarkar, editor, Data India, number 10, New Delhi: K. Bhupal for the Press Institute of India, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 154, column 1:

Your revenues and your outgos, then, are not the same.

1983 October 5, E[arl] Thomas Coleman, “Statement of Gene L. Swackhamer, President, Farm Credit Banks of Baltimore”, in Rural Electrification and Telephone Revolving Fund Self-sufficiency Act of 1983: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, and Rural Development of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, First Session, on H.R. 3050 […] (Serial No. 98-37), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published 1984, →OCLC, page 271:

By the early 1980s the outgos to the fund were huge and the Government of India started looking for ways to reduce the fertilizer subsidies.

2008, Pradip Baijal, “How Did I Get into This?”, in Disinvestment in India: I Lose and You Gain, Delhi: Pearson Longman, →ISBN, page 6:

(countable, business, archaic except India) A cost, expenditure, or outlay.


Seven Sisters

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


annexure

en-noun

annexure (countable and uncountable, plural annexures)

This aspect of the publication appears in one of the annexures at the end of the lectures.

1989, Nagendra Singh, The Role and Record of the International Court of Justice, page xiv:

In addition a comprehensive set of annexures had to be submitted with each application that included the following […]

2001, Case Studies on the Allocation of Transferable Quota Rights in Fisheries, number 411, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations:

The reports of the seminars and their recommendations are included in the annexures of the book. The population data and other relevant information are also given in the annexures.

2006, Braja Bihārī Kumāra, Illegal Migration from Bangladesh, page xvii:

An affidavit may refer to and identify documents and other things which are part of the evidence-in-chief of a witness. These are referred to variously as annexures or exhibits. A neutral term used here for annexures and exhibits is 'attachment'.

2013, John Levingston, The Law of Affidavits, page 99:

(especially India and UK law, otherwise dated) An appendix or attachment to a document.


bratty

(India) A cake of dried cow dung, used for fuel.


Sunyavadi

Sunyavadi (plural Sunyavadis or Sunyavadi)

(colloquial, derogatory, Hindu, India, religious slur) A Buddhist, Taoist, or other impersonal worshipper.


panchayat

/pənˈt͡ʃɑjət̪/

Borrowed from Hindi पंचायत (pañcāyat, “panchayat (originally a council of five)”).

bor

He called a panchayat of the village and asked them if they objected to having a mill go up next to their village.

2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 58:

“You're in the panchayat,” she said. “So couldn't you make that official?”

2005, Salman Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown, Vintage, published 2006, page 233:

(South Asia, chiefly India) A village council or local government.


updation

en-noun

updation (countable and uncountable, plural updations)

(chiefly India, uncountable) The act or process of updating.

The above updation can be done through each vertex k.

1998, C. Xavier, S. S. Iyengar, Introduction to Parallel Algorithms, page 209:

It then sends a message to the table updation object to create a new entry in the track table using the relevant information extracted from the flight plan table.

2001, C. Siva Ram Murthy, G. Manimaran, Resource Management in Real-Time Systems and Networks, page 437:

The cost of updation in Line 7 is three Fₚ multiplications.

2005, Sanjit Chatterjee, Palash Sarkar, Rana Barua, “Efficient Computation of Tate Pairing in Projective Coordinate over General Characteristic Fields”, in Choonsik Park, Seongtaek Chee, editors, Information Security and Cryptology - ICISC 2004, page 175:

(chiefly India, countable) An instance of that process: an update.


Mallu

From Malayalam, Malayali. Compare Gujju (“a Gujarati speaker”).

(India, informal, sometimes derogatory) A person from the Indian state of Kerala, especially one who speaks Malayalam or is ethnically Malayali.


basun

(India, obsolete) Powdered gram used in cookery or in cleansing the hair, etc.


bhang

Transliteration of Hindustani بھانگ / भाँग (bhāṅg).

Almost from the outset of her arrival in the town, soft-muted music, the strange, heart-rending, mournful music of the East - suggestive of apes, and pearls, and bhang, and the colour blue - was to be heard, surging from the Nook in monotonous improvisation.

1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, hardback edition, page 36

He rolled out from under Zelikman, who looked surprised as if by the turn his bhang dream had taken.

2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre 2008, page 101:

Government-approved bhang shops thrive next to sweet shops flaunting rows of local desserts inside brightly lit, glass-panelled counters.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 13:

(India, Kenya, Uganda, elsewhere slang) Cannabis and preparations thereof.


chur

From Hindustani چر / चर (car, “ford; island, shoal”).

nb...

Compiled from the Best Authorities, and Arranged According to the Order of the English Alphabet.

and sold by Messrs. Thacker and Co. St. Andrew's Library; Messrs. Ostell and Co. British Library; and by Mr. P. S. D'Rozario, Church Mission Press; Calcutta.

The plaintiff sues to get possession of a piece of chur land. In the plaint, the case which seems to be made is, that the land is a re-formation upon the site of a former chur which at one time belonged to those through whom the plaintiff claims, but which was subsequently washed away. […] The first issue fixed by the Moonsiff, as stated in his judgment, is, "whether the chur in dispute is the contiguous accretion to the re-formed lands of Chur Bandaparah and was held in possession by the plaintiff, and his co-sharers."

1869 July 30, Justice A. J. Macpherson, “Rashmonee Dassee and others (Defendants) Appellants, versus Bhubonath Bhuttacharjee (Plaintiff) Respondent”, in D[avid] Sutherland, editor, The Weekly Reporter, Appellate High Court. …, volume XII, Calcutta: Published by Messrs. Thacker, Spink & Co., and printed by the Bengal Printing Company Limited, published 1870, →OCLC, page 253, column 1:

This was a suit brought to recover possession of 12,000 beegahs of land. The land in question is a chur in the river Megna, a large navigable and tidal river. The particular portion of the river where the chur is situate is called the Gogra. […] They [the defendants] do not now attempt to make out a title to the chur; but they assert that it has been ever since its formation in their possession.

1870 November 19, Justice Markby, “Nabin Kishor Roy (defendant) v. Jages Prasad Gangopadhya and others (plaintiffs).”, in The Madras Revenue Register, volume V, number 6, Madras: [s.n.], published 15 June 1871, →OCLC, page 211, column 1:

Some time before 1847 the river threw up in its main and navigable channel certain islands or churs, of which it is only necessary to specify two, viz., Chur Durmeean and Chur Dukhin. […] [F]or the purposes of this litigation, it must be assumed that the churs in question were the property of the Government, and were duly granted to and settled with the respondents. […] Before the end of 1852 the river had swept away the whole of Chur Durmeean, but had formed another low chur in the vicinity of its site.

1872 May 25, Sir James W. Colville, Sir Robert Phillimore, Sir Montague E. Smith, “Nogender Chunder Ghose and another, versus Mahomed Esoff, the Collector of Chittagong, and others”, in D[avid] Sutherland, editor, The Weekly Reporter, Appellate High Court. …, volume XVIII, Calcutta: Published by Thacker, Spink, and Co., published 1873, →OCLC, page 114, column 1:

(India, dated) An island or shoal in a river.


murram

142. Floor for natives to be paved if for cots, otherwise to be murram or chunam, say 6″ rubble or concrete, plastered.

1873, Frank Robertson, Engineering Notes, E. & F. N. Spon, page 313:

The southern band of schists is also seen on the southern side of the Haladgáon hills in a murram quarry and as a band separating the quartzite and manganese-ore of Gumgáon hill.

1909, Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Geological Survey of India, page 845:

Laterite or murram, having a tendency to harden upon exposure, is often satisfactory when traffic is light, but it tends to corrugate or break down with heavier use.

1975, William Adams Hance, The Geography of Modern Africa, Second Edition, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 27:

page xxvi: Murram: Generally iron concretions formed in tropical soils, transitional to, or an early stage of, laterite formation.
page 73, in figure: Brownish red loam with murram in subsoil
page 75: In ferruginous tropical soils and ferrallites (Table 10) much iron released in weathering is often redeposited in the form of gravelly concretions locally termed murram. The word ‘laterite’ has been used for two distinct forms of precipitated iron.

1976, Norman Francis Hughes, “Manual of Applied Geology for Engineers”, in Institution of Civil Engineers, Thomas Telford, →ISBN:

They are a familiar sight to most travellers of the murram roads of Uganda.

1984, Jonathan Kingdon, East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Volume IIB: Hares and Rodents, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 441:

Tracks and roads were at first rough and rutted, and quickly became quagmires in the rainy seasons before being surfaced first with "murram" gravel, later with tarmac.

1991, Donald B. Freeman, A City of Farmers: Informal Urban Agriculture in the Open Spaces of Nairobi, Kenya, McGill-Queen's Press, →ISBN, page 33:

1991, Bernard Verdcourt, Boraginaceae, a volume of R.M. Polhill (Ed.), Flora of Tropical East Africa, A.A. Balkema, →ISBN, page 108,
Hab. Grassland, bushland, often as a weed in plantations, cultivation edges, murram roadsides and other areas of bare soil; (?600–)1140–2040(–?2520) m.

The soils vary from sandy, sandy clay and clay to shallow young soils of mainly murram or gravel.

2006, Robert Tripp, Self-Sufficient Agriculture: Labour and Knowledge in Small-Scale Farming, James & James/Earthscan, →ISBN, page 134:

Kenya's road network comprises 9,000km of bitaminised road, 27,000km of murram all-weather roads, and 27,000km of non-classified roads.

2006, Pascal Belda, Kenya, MTH Multimedia S.L., →ISBN, page 190:


raita

From the Hindi idiom रायता फैलाना (rāytā phailānā), which means to "spill the raita" or "make a mess".

(India, derogatory, politics, online slang) A Hindu who does not support Hindutva, a liberal Hindu, especially (highly derogatory) as considered a traitor to India or race traitor towards Indians.


headman

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

But then Nash speaks to the school headman on Josie's behalf and persuades him to admit my youngest son.

1995, Evelyn Wilde Mayerson, Miami, page 203:

The Headman and the Principal of the school have taken care that the children do not learn anything and that education does not make any progress in this region.

2005, Narain Roop Sonker, Poisonous Roots, page 20:

Teachers were in the playground and our school Headman, Mrs. Rupali Chandra was on the stage.

2015, Piyush Arora, My Childhood Love Story, page 38:

(informal, rare, chiefly India) headmaster


differently able

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

Illogical pedestrian crossings, inaccessible pavements and inconvenient public transport make it rather hostile for its differently abled citizens.

2022 May 24, “Is Chennai convenient for its Differently-abled citizens?”, in The Hindu:

(euphemistic, often humorous or pejoratively so except India) Disabled or handicapped.


out-of-state

tlb

(US, also Australia, India, Malaysia, Nigeria)

Out-of-state tuition is generally two to three times higher than in-state tuition for each of the years, regardless of institution type.

2007, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, What's Happening to Public Education? The Shifting Financial Burden, page 172:

(not comparable) Available to individuals from another state; available to individuals not from the current or relevant state


outstation

(India, Malaysia, Singapore) Out of town.


m'lord

1986, Ben Elton et al., Blackadder II, 3: "Money"
There's a priest wants t'see you, m'lord.
Well, tell him I'm Jewish.

2012, David Benioff et al., A Game of Thrones, 2.3: "A Man without Honor"
And, girl.
My lord.
Lowborn girls say "m'lord", not "my lord". If you're going to pose as a commoner, you should do it properly.

(British, now often historical or humorous, also law, in India) My Lord (used to address peers temporal, judges, etc).


shikar

en-noun

shikar (countable and uncountable, plural shikars)

From Urdu شکار / Hindi शिकार (śikār), from Persian شکار (šekâr).

Where other men took ten days to the Hills, Strickland took leave for what he called shikar, put on the disguise that appealed to him at the time, stepped down into the brown crowd, and was swallowed up for a while.

1888, Rudyard Kipling, “Miss Youghal's Sais”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society, published 2007, page 25:

They climbed up the ladder, and he mounted shikar fashion, treading first on the sharp edge of the heel and then into the looped-up tail.

1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 130:

(India) Hunting, sport; a hunting expedition.