Glossary of Indian and Anglo-Indian Words plus Some English Words Used in an Indian Context
ayah – an Indian nanny or nursemaid
baba, baba log – child, child folk
babu – usually employed as a pejorative term for a semi-anglicized Hindu clerk
batta – an allowance for military officers on campaign
bearer – a valet, senior male servant
begum – a Muslim princess, a female ruler of an Indian state
boxwallah – a pedlar in Hindustani, later used to describe a British merchant or businessman
burra memsahib – the wife of a senior officer or official
burra peg – a large measure of alcohol, usually brandy or whisky
cantonment – a military station
chaprasi – a messenger or errand boy
charpoy – a string bed
chee-chee (or chi-chi) – disparaging term for the way Eurasians (later called Anglo-Indians) spoke English
chota hazri – a light and very early breakfast
chota peg – a single measure of alcohol, usually brandy or whisky
chowkidar – a night watchman or village policeman
chummery – a house shared by bachelors
Civilian – a member of the Indian Civil Service (ICS)
collector – a revenue officer, chief civil servant in a district
cutchery – a court house, sometimes a magistrate’s office
dais – an hereditary midwife in rural India (now known as ‘traditional birth attendant’)
dak bungalow – a rest-house for officers and other travellers maintained by the Indian government
dandy – a sort of hammock on a pole carried by dandy wallahs
darzi – a tailor
Factor – a fairly junior civil servant in the East India Company
fakir – usually used to describe an ascetic, semi-naked Hindu devotee
furlough – (from the Dutch verlof) long leave, usually first taken after eight years’ service in India
ghazi – a Muslim warrior or ‘fanatic’
griffin – a newcomer in his first year in India
Hills (the) – generic British name for the Indian uplands
hookah-burdar – a servant in charge of his master’s pipe, or hookah
jampan – a sort of sedan chair carried by two pairs of porters, or jampannies
jezail – long-barrelled Afghan musket
jheel – a swamp
jirga – a council of tribal elders in north-western India
khansama – a butler, steward, sometimes cook
khitmutgar – a senior servant who waits at table
maharani – the wife of a maharaja
maidan – an open space in the centre of a town
mali – a gardener
mofussil – rural areas, ‘up country’
munshi – a teacher or secretary
nabob – term for an eighteenth-century Briton who had made a fortune in India
nawab – a Muslim nobleman or ruler
palanquin – a covered litter, carried by porters, often used for long journeys
patel – a village headman
patwari – a village accountant and registrar
Plains (the) – generic British name for lowland India
Political – a member of the Indian Political Service (IPS)
punkah – a large cloth fan attached to the ceiling
punkah wallah – the Indian who pulls the rope of the punkah
purdah – the curtain screening women from the sight of male strangers
purdah nashin – a woman who is secluded ‘behind the curtain’
raga – the melodic base of Indian classical music
rani – the wife of a raja
Resident – a senior member of the Indian Political Service stationed in a princely state
ryot – a peasant cultivator
sepoy – an Indian soldier in the ranks of the East India Company and later of the Indian Army
shikar – the pursuit of ‘game’ (e.g. hunting, shooting and fishing)
shikari – a hunter or a hunting guide
sola topi – a lightweight pith hat or sun helmet
sowar – trooper in the Indian Army cavalry
sweeper – the most menial of servants, a cleaner of lavatories
syce – a groom
tahsildar – a revenue officer in charge of a tahsil
tiffin – a midday snack or light early lunch
tonga – a light two-wheeled carriage, usually drawn by ponies
Vedas – the ancient, sacred Hindu books
Writer – a junior civil servant of the East India Company
zemindar – a large landowner and rent collector in Bengal
zenana – the area in a household where women were kept secluded