babu

See also: Babu and baboe

English

Alternative forms

• baboo (dated)

Etymology

From Hindi बाबू (bābū).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːbuː/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

babu (plural babus)

1. (India) A Hindu title of respect, equivalent to Mr., usually appended to the surname of a Hindu man [from 18th c.]
   • 1989, Amitav Ghosh, Shadow Lines:

     I could see Kana-babu’s sweet-shop at the end of their lane with absolute clarity.

2. (India) (Originally) a Hindu gentleman employed to work as a clerk for the colonial administration; now, a clerk or low-ranking government official. [from 19th c.]
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘His Chance in Life’, Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 57:

     The Babu put on his cap and quietly dropped out of the window

   • 1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Chapter 2”, in Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, OCLC 1810828:

     Office babus are the real rulers of this country now. Our number's up. Best thing we can do is to shut up shop and let 'em stew in their own juice.

   • 2014, James Lambert, “Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis”, in World Englishes, page 116:

     From the prevailing colonial perspective, the English of the babus was error-ridden and characterised by over-elaborate ornateness, and for these ‘transgressions’ it became the butt of native-speaker ridicule.

Derived terms

• babu English
• babudom
• babuism

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Brunei Malay

Etymology

From Javanese ꦧꦧꦸ (babu, “female servant”, literally “mother”), from Old Javanese babu (“mother; older servant”), wawuh (“familiar, acquainted”).

Noun

babu

1. A mother.

   Synonym: mama

2. An aunt.
3. Term for any middle-aged or elderly woman.

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Bunun

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *babuy.

Noun

babu

1. pig (livestock)

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Indonesian

Etymology

From Javanese ꦧꦧꦸ (babu, “female servant”, literally “mother”), from Old Javanese babu (“mother; older servant”), wawuh (“familiar, acquainted”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbabu/
• Hyphenation: ba‧bu
• Rhymes: -bu, -u

Noun

babu (plural babu-babu, first-person possessive babuku, second-person possessive babumu, third-person possessive babunya)

1. housemaid

Derived terms

• memperbabu

 

• babu cuci
• babu dalam
• babu masak
• babu tetek

 

See also

• jongos

Further reading

• “babu” in Online Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language [Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia Daring], Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

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Jarawa

Etymology

From Hindi बाबू (bābū). Cognate to Önge babu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /babu/

Noun

babu

1. official, officer (of the Indian government of the Andamans)

References

• Kumar, Pramod (2012). Descriptive and Typological Study of Jarawa (PhD). Jawaharlal Nehru University. Page 111, 141, 187.

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Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbabu]

Noun

babu

1. accusative/instrumental singular of baba

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Serbo-Croatian

Noun

babu (Cyrillic spelling бабу)

1. accusative singular of baba

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Shabo

Adjective

babu

1. two

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Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbabu]

Noun

babu

1. accusative singular of baba

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Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

Noun

babu (n class, plural babu)

1. grandfather (from either side)

Coordinate terms

• bibi

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Tagalog

Alternative forms

• vavu

Etymology

A play on babay or English bye-bye.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ba‧bu
• IPA^(key): /baˈbu/, [bɐˈbu]

Interjection

babú (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊᜓ)

1. (slang) goodbye; ta ta

   Synonyms: paalam, babay

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Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈba.bu]

Verb

babu (Jawi بابو‎)

1. (intransitive) (of humans) to fall

   ngofa ibabu ― children fall

   ibabu toma kaha ― they fell on the ground

   Synonym: doro (of non-humans)

2. (intransitive) to be overthrown

Conjugation

Conjugation of babu
	Singular	Plural
	Inclusive	Exclusive
1st	tobabu	fobabu	mibabu
2nd	nobabu	nibabu
3rd	Masculine	obabu	ibabu, yobabu†
Feminine	mobabu
Neuter	ibabu
† - archaic

References

• Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

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Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *papu. The initial b- was introduced by analogy with Russian боб (bob).

Noun

babu

1. bean

Inflection

Inflection of babu
nominative sing.	babu
genitive sing.	babun
partitive sing.	babud
partitive plur.	babuid
	singular	plural
nominative	babu	babud
accusative	babun	babud
genitive	babun	babuiden
partitive	babud	babuid
essive-instructive	babun	babuin
translative	babuks	babuikš
inessive	babus	babuiš
elative	babuspäi	babuišpäi
illative	?	babuihe
adessive	babul	babuil
ablative	babulpäi	babuilpäi
allative	babule	babuile
abessive	babuta	babuita
comitative	babunke	babuidenke
prolative	babudme	babuidme
approximative I	babunno	babuidenno
approximative II	babunnoks	babuidennoks
egressive	babunnopäi	babuidennopäi
terminative I	?	babuihesai
terminative II	babulesai	babuilesai
terminative III	babussai	—
additive I	?	babuihepäi
additive II	babulepäi	babuilepäi

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “боб”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

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Yindjibarndi

Noun

babu

1. father