What is a Nabob?
You have now and again met with the phrase, "rich as a nabob," and have perhaps wondered what a nabob had to do with riches. I will tell you. Under the Mogul Empire the provinces of India were administered by deputies called nawâb, who commonly amassed great wealth and lived in much splendour. The title was used under British rule, but became gradually corrupted into nabob. In course of time it was applied generally to all natives who had grown rich, and latterly it was bestowed—more often in a derisive sense—upon Europeans who, having made large fortunes in India, returned to their native land and spent their money in a luxurious and ostentatious way.
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