Sunday, November 23, 2008

nabob

nabob

nabob \NAY-bob\, noun:

1. a native ruler in India in the Mogul empire; by extension, a person from India who made a fortune there
2. a very wealthy and prominent person; mogul

I am not a nabob, but I live well.
-- Malcolm Moore, Sicilian reggae performer wows Jamaica, Daily Telegraph, January 18, 2004
This super nabob spent money as though it was water.
-- Arthur Daley, Lessons in Skulduggery, New York Times, September 16, 1939
Perhaps once worn by some nabob or his wife, it is today, of course, a museum piece, lent to the display by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
-- Italian Artisans Who Created New Fashion From an Ancient Style, New York Times, December 16, 2000

by 1612, "deputy governor in Mogul Empire," Anglo-Indian, from Hindi nabab, from Arabic nuwwab, honorific plural of na'ib "viceroy, deputy." This word was also used of Europeans who came home from India having made a fortune there, hence "very rich man" (1760).

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