धोबी

Hindi

Etymology

From धोब (dhob, “a wash”) +‎ -ई (-ī), from Prakrit [script needed] (*dhovvaï), a passive form of Prakrit [script needed] (*dhauvati), ultimately from Sanskrit धाव् (dhāv, “to rinse, cleanse”). Cognate with Punjabi ਧੋਬੀ (dhobī), Gujarati ધોબી (dhobī), Marathi धोबी (dhobī).

Pronunciation

• (Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /d̪ʱoː.biː/

Noun

धोबी • (dhobī) m (feminine धोबिन, Urdu spelling دھوبی)

1. washerman

Declension

Declension of धोबी (masc ī-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	धोबी dhobī	धोबी dhobī
oblique	धोबी dhobī	धोबियों dhobiyõ
vocative	धोबी dhobī	धोबियो dhobiyo

Descendants

• → Burmese: ဒိုဘီ (duibhi)
• → English: dhobi
• → Malay: dobi
• → Swahili: dobi

References

• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “*dhauvati”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press