aftaba - water pot with spout and handle
achcha, accha - all right? , good
admi (cu.aadmi) - man, men
aiste - slowly
Allah kerim! - Allah be merciful!
almirah - wardrobe, chest of drawers
Angrezi - English
anna - one sixteenth of a rupee
ap (cu. aap} - polite form of “thou” (used to equals or superiors)
archarji (cu.acharyaji) - teacher, priest
arre - Oh!
asil - calm
asli- nahin not real
atta - flour
ayah - nurse-maid, or lady's maid
Aa—or - Cahors?
Aggy Chell - get ahead
abby-nay - Not now
arder - And a half
aasvogel - Vulture

B

babu - (1) Hindu gentleman (respectful), (2) Hindu merchant or Clerk (derogatory)
Babuji - term of respect and friendliness
babul - thorny mimosa with aromatic yellow flowers
badmash (cu.budmaash) - rascal
Badshah - King
bagh - garden
bakshish - gratuity, hence “buckshee"= free (Army sl)
Bahadur - honorific title, lit. “brave”
Bahkshikhana - Pay Office
bahut accha - very good (cu. bahoot achcha)
baitoe (cu.bhaitoh) - sit, wait
baja - musical instrument
balushai - sweetmeat
bander-log - monkey people (pr.”logue”)
bandobast - organisation
bap (cu.baap) - father
barasingh - Kashmiri red deer (lit. 12 horns
bashaw - lord or master
bat (cu.baat) - speech, talk. Language
bat - words, matter (pr. “bart”)
batcha - child
bazugar - acrobat, tumbler
Belait - anywhere foreign but to British troops it meant England
Belaiti - English or European (hence “Blighty”)
bhai / by- brother
bhang (pr. bhung) - expensive drug derived from hemp
bhils - marshes or ponds
bhisti - water-carrier orig. “man of Heaven”
bohin / bahen - sister (pr.”bain”) (cu. bahain)
boli - speech
bhoosa - hay, also sawdust
bukh - talk
bukhshi - army paymaster (?)
bul-bul - nightingale
burra - important, great, large
bundobast, bandobast - agreement, arrangement
burruf / barf - ice
bursat (cu.barsaat) - rains (monsoon)
bus - enough, finish (usually said twice)
bus hogia - finished, ended
bunnia- money-lender, or corn merchant
bund - embankment
bundook - rifle, shotgun
bustees - flimsy huts, squatter colony
butcha,batcha - child, infant
buts - Buddhist images
byle - ox or bullock
babul - Acacia
bairagi - Wandering holy man
band karo - locked up
Bandar - Monkey
bat - talk
Beebee Miriam - the Virgin Mary
biltong - dried meat
Blue Fuse - Extreme range
boorga - Hurricane
bottle-khana - Pantry
Bukhshi's - The Commander in chief.
bul-bul - Nightingale
burra-khana - dinner
Burra Sahib - a big man
Burra Sahib Bahadur - a very big man indeed
bursati - A skin disease of horses
bust - Three days leave

C

caster - discharged Army horse
chabuk- whip
chae - tea (char=Army sl)
challan - consignment
chamar - of low caste/ from “chumra” a shoemaker
chandu - opium
chaprassie - uniformed office messenger
charpoi - string framed bed
chatti - earthen pot, porous to keep water cool
chela - young disciple, orig. household slave
chik - slatted blind
chil, (cu.cheel) - a kite (bird)
chillam - a hookah
chirag - clay lamp
chit, (cu.chitty) - note, letter/promissory note
chiton - dress
choga - loose upper garment
choop,chup - silent, still
chor - thief
chota - small
chota hazri - early morning tea/ breakfast
chowki - toll or police station (hence sl.“chokey”)
chowkidar - watchman,guard
chubara, chubutra - garden pavilion
chudder - veil in front of a woman's face
chunam - lime, plaster
chuppar - thatch
chuprassi - messenger (pr.”chaprassi”)
chumars, - low caste leather-workers (see chamar)
chhut-ti/chuti,chhuti - leave, dismissal
cicalas - cicadas
coolie, cooly - hired labourer
consumah -10 million
C.B. - Confined to barracks
Chota Bursat - the early rains
C.I.E. - A Companionship of the order of the Indian Empire.
C.S.I. - The order of the Star of India

D

dacoit - armed robber
dak - post, mail, journey
Dak bungalow - rest house
dandy - Himalayan hammock like litter
darogah - village constable
dasturi - commission on a transaction
degchies - cooking utensils
dekko - to look
deodar - coniferous tree, sacred to Hindus (Cedrus deodara)
dewanee - madness
dewas - Godlike image
dharzee/durzee - tailor
dhoti - loincloth
dhow - single-masted Arab sailing vessel
dil - heart
din - religion, also day
Diwan - Chief Minister
diwan - type of sofa
Do - two
doab - land between two rivers
dom - low caste cleaner
dooli - bamboo stretcher, light palanquin
doomb - fat-tailed sheep
duftar - office
dun - flat area in hills
Durbar - public audience
durwan - gate-keeper
durwaza - door
durwaza bund - door shut (not at home)
dushman - enemy
dustoorie - “commission” payment
dâk - Stage of a journey — To travel by dak - to travel by relays of palanquins or other carriage, as fast as the post along a road.
dammer - Native sealing-wax
darwaza band - doors closed, ‘not at home’
dasturi - bribes
De Contemptu Mundi - Hymn No. 226, A. and M., ‘The world is very evil.’
dhoni - native boat
Docking and Dowsing - Shoal lights on the East Coast.
Dop - Cape brandy
duftar - Office

E

ek - one
ek dum - at once, immediately
ekka/ecka - a small one-horse carriage

F

fakir - religious beggars
farash - carpet-layer
fareib - fraud / trick
ferao - scarlet woodpecker
ferash - date tree

G

Ganga / Gunga - River Ganges
gariwan - driver also ghariwala
ghat, ghaut - landing steps on a riverbank, also mountain pass
ghee - clarified butter for use in cooking
ghora - horse
ghur, (cu.ghar) - house
ghuzul - bath
ghuzulkhana - bathroom
goglet - cattle-driver
gram - pulse for horse feed
gurrum - hot
guru - leader/teacher/holy man
ghora láo - bring my horse
guddee - Throne

H

Hakim - doctor or judge
Hajii - one who has made pilgrimage to Mecca
haramzada - scoundrel
hathi - elephant
hazri - breakfast
Hazur/Huzoor - Your Excellency
hitherao - come here!
hooka/hookah - pipe for smoking through water/ alt: hubble-bibble
hookum - order / command
hoondi - bill of exchange
howdah - framed seat carried by an elephant
hubshi - orig..Ethiopian/negro
hulwaies - confectioners
humara - my, mine
hushiar - clever, intelligent
haramzadas - scoundrels
Harry By - Mr. Atkins's equivalent for "O brother."
hazar-ho - Wait a bit
hog-darn - Cigar-lighter
hokee-mut - very drunk
holluschickie - The young seal
hoppin’ - Hop-picking
Hum deckty hai - I’m looking out.

I

iswasti - for this reason
izzut, (cu izzat) - honour
Imshee kelb - Get out, you dog.

J

jadoo - magic/sorcery/black art
jaghirdar - landowner
jaldi / juldi / juldee - “quickly”
jaldi karo - “do it quickly”
jampannie - rickshaw puller or sedan chair carrier
janwer, (cu,janwar) - animal
jao - “Go”! (rude!)
jaroo - broom
jehad - Holy-War
Jehanum - hell
Jemadar - leader /Second rank of native officer
jemadar-sais - head groom
jezail - Afghan long-barrelled rifle, fired from a forked rest
jharan - duster / dish cloth
jheel/ jhil - swamp or lake
jhool - horse blanket
jingal - Native cannon
juldee - Be quick
jutis - shoes

K

kabab - skewered meat
kabarri - second-hand furniture shop
kaddoo - pumpkin
Kaiser-I-Hind - Empress of India
kala - black
kala juggah - dark corner, “sitting-out” alcove
kala pani - black water (to leave India)
kam - work
kamra - room
kanats - canvas enclosures
karo- do
kazi - Muslim law officer
ke- marfik - in this manner
kench, (cu.khainch) - “pull” !
khajur - date (fruit)
kerani - a writer
khana - food/ meal
khansama/ consumah - House-steward / chief table servant
kheyl - clan or tribe
khitmagar/ kitmutgar - table servant
khitab - book (or title)
khiwasti ? - how ?
khoota. (cu.kutta) - dog
khoti - house
Khrishna - Hindu God
khubber - news
khubber kharkuz - newspaper
khubbi - ever
khubbi nahin - never
khud - precipitous slope
khushi - nice, pleasant (hence sl.“cushy”)
kichree - kedgeree
kilta - basket container
kitna? - "how many, how much?”
koi hai? - is anyone there?
koil, (cu.kooyal) - singing bird
Koran - the holy book of Islam
kos - a distance of about two miles
krait - small brown/grey venomous snake
kubberdar, - take care/ look out! (cu.khabbardar)
kukri - Gurkha knife
kul - tomorrow or ! yesterday
kutcha - of poor quality/ second class
Kutcherry - court-house
kaa-pi chay-ha-yeh - copy wanted
kala juggahs - cosy corners
kanats - canvas
karela - A wild melon.
kikar - Wayside tree
kitmutgars - Waiters
khansamah - Butler
khud - hillside
köil - The Indian bell-bird
kul - To-morrow

L

lal - red
lakh - 100,000
Lala - title of respect for a Hindu
lama - a Tibetan word for a religious superior
langur - a long haired monkey
lao - bring (imperative)
lon - red powder
lotah - brass pot
larai - war or battle
lathi - 5’ bamboo stick, metal tipped
lunkah - cheroot

M

machan - a bamboo platform for shooting from
madrissah - school / college
maharaj - honorific form of address
Maharaja - Ruler of an Indian State
mahout - elephant driver
mahseer - a game fish
Mai Ganga - Mother Ganges
maidan - park or open space
mali, malli - gardener
Malik - tribal headman
maro / marrow - a deliberate hit
massala - spice mixture
massalchi - dish-washer
matranee, (cu.mehtranee)- wife of a sweeper
maulvie - learned man
maund - a weight (80 lbs)
mehrbani - please
mehtar - a sweeper, but in origin – a Prince
mela - festival
Memsahib - Sahib’s lady
Mian - Muslim title of respect
Minars - minarets
mistri - carpenter / mason
mofussil - country districts
motamid - lawyer’s clerk
muchli - fish in general
muezzin - Muslim caller to prayer
mullah - Moslem religious teacher
munhi - prayer
munshi - clerk/ language teacher
munsiff - low grade Native judge
mussuck,masak - goatskin water-bag
musth - madness, distemper of elephants
mut - drunk
mut - don’t
mynah - Indian starling which can mimic
malliel - The cemetery gardener
marrow - Hit you
matkas - She-seals
Maun Nihâl Seyn - Mount Nelson (?)
maxima debetur pueris reverentia - The greatest respect is due to young persons
Mlech - The foreigner
Mukht-i-Fauj - Salvation Army
mussick - Water-skin
musth - Mad

N

nag - snake
nahin - no
naib - deputy
naik- corporal
nat - juggler
nauker-log - servants (pr.”logue”)
naulakha - nine lakhs
Naulahka,- The “the nine-lakh necklace”
nautch - formal dance display
nickle-jao - “get out!”
nimbu - lime
nimbu pani - lime juice
nol-kol - kohl-rabi
nukshan, (cu.nuksaan) - injury, damage, destruction
nullah - bed of watercourse, usually dry
numdah - a felt rug
nuzzer -ceremonial gifts
Nikhal Seyn - Nicholson, a gentleman once of some notoriety in India.
Non hoc semper erit liminis aut aquae caelestis patiens latus - ‘This side will not always be patient of rain and waiting on the threshold.’
Number Threes - Horse-holders when in action, and therefore generally under cover.

O

octroi - Municipal tax
“Om mane padme hum” - an incantation meaning “the jewel is in the lotus flower”
Oont - Camel: oo is pronounced like u in "bull", but by Mr. Atkins to rhyme with "front".
ooplah dried cow-dung for fuel

P

pagri - see “puggaree”
pahari - hillman
palanquin - litter carried on the shoulders of four men
pan, (cu,paan) - folded betel leaf containing other ingrediants for chewing
panch - five
pani - water
pechi, (cu.peechay) - behind, at the back
peg - measure of spirit, usually whisky
pice, paisa - 1/12th of an anna, gen. Money
pipal- fig-tree
poshteen - Afghan fur lined coat
puggaree - turban worn by servants, also cloth band around topee
pukka - first class, proper, orig. “cooked” and so – “thorough”
pummeloe - large citrus fruit
pundit - a learned man, (later specifically referring to native surveyors working beyond the border in the '[great game'
Punjab - Land of the Five Rivers (panch = 5)
punkah- a suspended, swinging fan
purdah - curtain, veil, seclusion of women
purdahnashin - take to the veil
pyjammas - pair of loose trousers tied round the waist
pagal - idiot
panee lao - Bring water swiftly
peg - Whisky and soda
pêt - stomach
Pharisee - A fairy

R

rabi - crops sown after the rains
raj - rule
Rajah - ruler
rajbahar - main irrigation channel
raj-mistri - head carpenter/mason
Ranee - wife of a Rajah, Princess
rath - enclosure wall
reh - salty, barren soil
rezai - a quilt
Rissaldar - native captain in a Cavalry regiment
rupee - standard unit of currency
ryot- tenant farmer, peasant

S

Sahib - “sir”, “master”
sais, syce - horse groom
Salaam - a salutation – peace
Salaam alaikum - Peace be unto you
sambhur - large deer
samp, sanp - snake
sari - women’s dress
seer - unit of weight (2lbs)
sepoy - native private soldier
serai - stable, or a caravanserai
shabash - well done, bravo
shaitan - Satan, devil
shamiana - tent
sher - a tiger
shikar - a hunting expedition
shikari - professional hunter
shroff - moneylender
sirkar - government
simpkin - corruption of "champagne"
sinnit - braided cord
sitar - Indian stringed instrument
sowah, (cu.sawah) - mounted orderly
stunt - assistant (Collector)
stupas - buddhist monuments
Subadar - the most senior native officer in a company of Sepoys
sub chiz - everything
sudder - chief,,main
sungar - stone breastwork
sunnyasi - Hindu religious mendicant
suttee - ritual of widow-burning
samadh - A memorial
sat-bhai - Indian Starlings
see-catchie - The male seal
Sheristada - Clerk of the court
shikarred - Hunted
shroff - Money-lender
simpkin - Champagne
skoff - Food
slingers - bread soaked in tea
Suleiman and Aflatoun - Solomon and Plato

T

takkus - tax (probably derived from Indian pronunciation of the English word 'tax')
taleb - Pay
tamasha - a show, excitement
tambo - tambourine
tar, (cu.taar) - telegram, literally "wire"
tat - country bred pony
tatties - screens kept wet for coolness
teapoy, teapoi - small tripod table
teen - three
tehisldar - native tax-collector
terai - wide-brimmed hat, probably an Anglo-Indian colloquialism
thana - jail, police station
thano - pull (imperative)
thug - member of gang of murdering robbers
thugee - practice of the thugs
ticca gharri - hired four-wheel carriage
tiercel - male falcon
tiffin - lunch
tik hai? - (cu.thik hai?) all right?
tikkah - ornamental mark on forehead
tonga - two wheeled carriage
tulwar - a large curved sword
tum thou - you (used to inferiors)
tunda,(cu.thunda) - cold
talao - Pond or lake
Thamesfontein - London
Thuu - Literally, a rotted out tree-stump
tonga-bar - Bar of the old fashioned curricle that took men up to Simla before the railroad was made.
thanca - Police station
thirteen-two - Polo-pony
tikka dhurzie - hired tailor
Trek jou - Get ahead
tulsi - The Holy Basil

U

uttr, (cu.attar) - perfume
Upsaras - The Choosers of the Slain.

V

vakil - lawyer
Vedas - sacred writing of the Hindus
Vinar, (cu.veena) - string sitar like instrument resting on two gourds
Voorloopers - Leading horseman of the enemy
V.P.P. - Value Payable Parcels Post: in which the Government collects the money for the sender.

W

wallah - suffix – person e.g. Tonga-wallah
wuh - that one
wullie-wa - a spiral of blown snow – probably derived from a sailor’s expression for a violent squall

Y

yaboos - breed of small, hardy Afghan horse
yogi - an ascetic

Z

Zamindar / Zemindar - land owner
Zennana - women’s quarters

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Notes:
Pr.= pronunciation
Sl.= slang
Cu.= near current spelling
Orig.= originally.