GLOSSARY
Note.—Only the utmost nicety of scholarship would justify one in feeling sure that any (English) spelling of a Hindustani word was correct. Indeed, one who is not a scholar, must, after some years’ residence in India, come to the conclusion that all spellings of a Hindustani word are correct.
In this dilemma I have tried to avoid spellings that were pedantic. But I have also tried to avoid spellings that were over-English.
In the following glossary, the definitions indicate the meanings in which the words have been used in the preceding pages. Many of the words have several other meanings. And Anglo-Indian Hindustani is not always exact Hindustani.
The Japanese, Chinese, and Burmese words are indicated by parenthetical initials.
L. J. M.
| Agni | A Hindoo god. |
| Amah (C. and J.) | A nurse, a maid, a female servant. |
| Anna | A small coin; a sixteenth of a rupee. |
| Aryama | A Hindoo god. |
| As’ma’rohana | A division or part of the Brahmin marriage ceremony. |
| Ayah | A nurse, a maid, a female servant. |
| Baba | Baby. |
| Babus | Bengali clerks, or book-keepers. |
| Bazaar | Native market. |
| Bearer | A valet, a man who partly does ordinary housemaid’s work—usually a Mohammedan. |
| Betel-nut | The nut of the areca palm. It is very hot. |
| Bhaga | A Hindoo god. |
| Bhistie | Water-carrier. |
| Bonzes (C. and J.) | Priests. |
| Borri-wallah | A pedlar of cloth, silk, etc. and of pins, needles, and all sorts of small necessaries. |
| Bourkha | A wrapper used by the Mohammedan ladies of Peshawar when going through the streets. |
| Boy | Any male servant. |
| Bukshish | A present, a tip, anything given servants beyond their actual wages, etc., etc. |
| Bungalow | A house, a residence. |
| Burra | Large, great, foremost, or chief. |
| Burruf | Ice, or iced. |
| Cangue (C.) | A square board, on the principle of a stock, into which the neck of a Chinese prisoner is locked. |
| Cash (C.) | A coin of very small value. |
| Cedar jao | Go straight ahead (cedar, straight; jao, go). |
| Chair (C.) | A bamboo chair, slung on bamboo poles that are carried on the shoulders of Chinese coolies. |
| Chattee | An earthen or metal vessel, usually used for carrying water. |
| Chicken-work | Coarse native embroidery, usually on white cotton cloth. |
| Chin-chin (C.) | How do you do! good-bye; thank you. |
| Chit | A note, a bill, a written order for goods, refreshments, etc., a written recommendation. |
| Chokera | A small boy-servant. |
| Chota | Small, little. |
| Chota-haziri | Little breakfast, a light breakfast, usually served very early, in the sleeping apartment. |
| Chow-chow (C.) | Food. |
| Chowringhee | A street in Calcutta. |
| Cinch | Pull. |
| Coolie | One who does the hardest and roughest and most nondescript work and receives the smallest pay; an unskilled, low-priced, day labourer. |
| Crab | Bad. |
| Cue (C.) | The long braid of hair and silk or cotton worn by a Chinaman. |
| Dâk bungalow | A resting-house for travellers. It is provided by the Government in parts of India where there are few or no hotels. The dâk bungalows of India vary as much in the character of their accommodation and their degrees of comfort as do the hotels of Europe. |
| Dhobie | A washerman, very occasionally a washerwoman. |
| Dhurrumtollah | A street in Calcutta. |
| Dhursi | A tailor, a man-dressmaker. |
| Dhute | Milk. |
| Doolies | Rough wooden chairs or palanquins in which you are carried by coolies on the hills of India. |
| Durwan | A lodge-keeper, a front-door keeper, a gate-keeper. |
| Ekka | A rude, peculiar native carriage. I have only once seen a European in an ekka. In Northern India Europeans use ekkas as carry-alls for luggage and servants. |
| Fakir | A religious mendicant, a holy man wandering or living under an extreme religious vow. |
| Fankwai (C.) | Foreign devil. |
| Gandharva | A Hindoo god. |
| Gharri | A carriage. |
| Gharri-wallah | A coachman. |
| Ghât | Literally, steps up to or down from a place. |
| Ghee | Clarified butter. |
| Gram | A leguminous seed much used by the natives. It tastes very like a pea-nut. |
| Gymkhana | The place where sports are held. The holding of sports. |
| Hara-kiri (J.) | Ceremony of disembowelment. An honourable method of self-slaughter formerly exacted of Japanese criminals or victims of high rank. |
| Hookah | An Oriental pipe in which the tobacco-smoke passes through water. |
| Jao | Go. |
| Jinrickshaw | A two-wheeled vehicle pulled by a coolie or by coolies. |
| Joss (C.) | A god. |
| Joss sticks (C. and J.) | Small incense sticks. |
| Kali | A Hindoo goddess. |
| Kamlo (C.) | A prison. |
| Kanya-dana | A part of the Brahmin marriage ceremony. |
| Kautukagara | A room in which part of the Brahmin marriage ceremony is performed. |
| Khansamah | A butler, a man housekeeper. |
| Khitmatgar | A waiter, a dining-room servant, an under butler. |
| Khud | A valley. |
| Kimono (J.) | The principal or outer robe worn by both men and women. |
| Kither | Where, which way. |
| Kusti | A hollow woollen cord worn by Parsi men. |
| Lakh | One hundred thousand, one hundred thousand rupees. |
| La-la-lung (C.) | A thief, a liar, etc. |
| Lal-coatie sahib | A red-coat gentleman, a British soldier. |
| Madhuparka | A sweet mixture used at Brahmin marriages. |
| Maharajah | A Hindoo sovereign prince. |
| Maharanee | A Maharajah’s wife; his chief or queen wife if he has more than one wife. |
| Maidan | A park, a common. |
| Mallie | A gardener. |
| Mangal Fe’ra | A portion of the Brahmin marriage ceremony. |
| Memsahib | Lady, mistress. |
| Metrani | One of the lowest, or sweeper caste. A low-caste Hindoo who removes slops and débris, and who does work which Hindoos of no other caste will do. |
| Missie Baba | A girl baby, young lady. |
| Mistree | A carpenter, a cook. |
| Mohurrum | The chief of the Mohammedan festivals. |
| Nautch | A professional dance, an Oriental music-hall, a theatrical performance. A word so eastern that it cannot be translated into English. |
| Nautch ghât | A theatre, the place where a nautch is held. |
| Obi (J.) | A narrow belt worn above the broad sash. A girdle. It fastens in front. |
| Okurina (J.) | A new name given to the dead. |
| Padre sahib | Clergyman, chaplain. |
| Phulkaris | Draperies embroidered, and with small, circular, slightly convex mirrors sewn in the pattern. |
| Pice | A small coin equal in value to one-fourth of an anna. |
| Pie | A very small coin worth a fraction of a pice. |
| Potsoe (B.) | Skirt cloth worn by a man. |
| Punkah | A fan, also a large fan made of cloth and hung from the ceiling. |
| Punkah-wallah | A man who pulls or swings a punkah. |
| Purandhi | A Hindoo god. |
| Purdah | A curtain. |
| Rajah | An Indian prince of a lower rank than a Maharajah. |
| ’Rickshaw | An abbreviation of jinrickshaw. |
| Rupee | An Indian silver coin, originally worth two shillings. It is now worth one shilling and threepence. |
| Sahib | A gentleman, master, sir. |
| Sais | A groom, a footman. |
| Saki (J.) | A liquor made of rice. |
| Salaam | This word has more meanings than any other word I know. It is used to express ceremonious and complimentary greeting. It means “thank you.” It means acquiescence. |
| Sampan (C.) | A small, rude, native boat. |
| Saptapadi | “Seven steps,” part of the Brahmin marriage ceremony. |
| Sari | A cloth or garment worn by women. One end is wrapped about the hips, and, hanging to the ground, forms a skirt. The other end is brought up and worn over the head. |
| Satsuma (J.) | A peculiarly beautiful and valuable pottery. It is especially noted for its high glaze, the exquisite painting with which it is decorated, and for its interesting history. |
| Savitá | A Hindoo god. |
| Sayonara (J.) | Good-bye. But it is also used by Europeans and to Europeans as a greeting or salutation. |
| Sen (C. and J.) | A cent, one hundredth of a yen. |
| Sew-sew amahs (C.) | Women who go from door to door and do mending. |
| Shástras | A sacred book, considered to be of divine authority. |
| Snátaka | A Brahmin who has finished his studies. |
| Soma | A Hindoo god. |
| Tali | A cord or necklace on which talismans are strung. It is worn by all Hindoo married women. |
| Tamein (B.) | Skirt cloth worn by a woman. |
| Tâzia | A concoction of paper, tinsel, etc., carried in Mohammedan processions. |
| Tiffin | Lunch. |
| Tom-tom (C.) | A brass musical instrument, or rather instrument of noise. |
| Tonga | A vehicle used on the hills. It will hold four, including the driver. |
| Topee | A pith sun-hat or helmet. |
| Tum-tum | A dogcart. |
| Viváha-hôma | The marriage sacrifice. Part of the Brahmin marriage ceremonial. |
| Wallah | A man. |
| Yen (C. and J.) | A dollar. It is worth a little more than three shillings. |
THE END
Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh
Transcriber’s Notes:
Archaic spellings and hyphenation have been retained. Punctuation and obvious typesetting errors have been corrected without note. Some illustrations have been moved slightly from their original positions to keep paragraphs intact. Glossary was added to the Contents for reader convenience.
[End of When We Were Strolling Players in the East by Louise Jordan Miln]