nabob

English

Etymology

In colloquial usage in English since 1612, from Urdu, from Persian, from the honorific plural of Arabic نائب (nā’ib, “deputy”).

Noun

nabob (plural nabobs)

1. An Indian ruler within the Mogul empire; a nawab.
2. (by extension) Someone of great wealth or importance.
3. (by extension) A person with a grandiose style or manner.

Translations

an Indian ruler

• French: nabab (fr) m
• Hungarian: nábob (hu)

• Swedish: nabob (sv)

someone of great wealth

• French: nabab (fr) m
• Hungarian: nábob (hu)

• Italian: nababbo (it)
• Swedish: nabob (sv)

someone with grandiose style or manner

• French: nabab (fr) m

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:wealthy

Derived terms

• Nob Hill (San Francisco)

References

• Nabobs: A Study of the Social Life of the English in the Eighteenth-Century, Percival Spear, Oxford University Press, London 1938; New Edition OUP, USA: 1998.
• Durham's Place-Names of the San Francisco Bay Area, David L. Durham, Quill Driver Books, California: 2000.