babu

See also: Babu

English

Etymology

From Hindi बाबू (bābū).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːbuː/

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, George Orwell, Burmese Days, Chapter 2 [1]

     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

• babudom
• babuism

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Indonesian

Noun

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

1. housemaid

See also

• jongo

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Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbabu]

Noun

babu

1. accusative singular of baba
2. instrumental singular of baba

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Shabo

Adjective

babu

1. two

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Swahili

Noun

babu (n class, plural babu)

1. grandfather (from either side)

Coordinate terms

• bibi

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Veps

Etymology

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

Noun

babu

1. bean

References

• Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “боб”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[2], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

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Yindjibarndi

Noun

babu

1. father