1689.—"... by her came Bengal Peons who brought in several letters and a firmaun from the new Nabob of Bengal."—Wheeler, i. 213.
c. 1690.—"Now we may see the Mogul's Stile in his Phirmaund to be sent to Surat, as it stands translated by the Company's Interpreter."—A. Hamilton, i. 227; [ed. 1744, i. 230].
FISCAL, s. Dutch Fiscaal; used in Ceylon for 'Sheriff'; a relic of the Dutch rule in the island. [It was also used in the Dutch settlements in Bengal (see quotation from Hedges, below). "In Malabar the Fiscal was a Dutch Superintendent of Police, Justice of the Peace and Attorney General in criminal cases. The office and title of Fiscal was retained in British Cochin till 1860, when the designation was changed into Tahsildar and Sub-Magistrate."—(Logan, Malabar, iii. Gloss. s.v.)]
[1684.—"... the late Dutch Fiscall's Budgero...."—See quotation from Hedges, under [DEVIL'S REACH].]
FLORICAN, FLORIKIN, s. A name applied in India to two species of small bustard, the 'Bengal Florican' (Sypheotides bengalensis, Gmelin), and the Lesser Florican (S. auritus, Latham), the līkh of Hind., a word which is not in the dictionaries. [In the N.W.P. the common name for the Bengal Florican is charas, P. charz. The name Curmoor in Bombay (see quotation from Forbes below) seems to be khar-mor, the 'grass peacock.' Another Mahr. name, tanamora, has the same meaning.] The origin of the word Florican is exceedingly obscure; see Jerdon below. It looks like Dutch. [The N.E.D. suggests a connection with Flanderkin, a native of Flanders.] Littré has: "Florican ... Nom à Ceylon d'un grand échassier que l'on présume être un grue." This is probably mere misapprehension in his authority.
1780.—"The floriken, a most delicious bird of the buzzard (sic!) kind."—Munro's Narrative, 199.
1785.—
"A floriken at eve we saw
And kill'd in yonder glen,
When lo! it came to table raw,