babu

[ bah-boo ]

/ ˈbɑ bu /

(in India, especially under British rule)

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noun

a Hindu title of address equivalent to Sir, Mr., or Esquire.

a Hindu gentleman.

Older Use. an Indian clerk who can write in English.

Usually Disparaging. any Indian having only a limited knowledge of English.

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Also ba·boo .

Origin of babu

First recorded in 1875–80, babu is from the Hindi word bābū

usage note for babu

The term babu English is a disparaging name for a florid, overly polite, or unidiomatic variety of English historically associated with Indians who have limited proficiency in English.

Words nearby babu

Babo's law, babracot, Babruysk, Babs, Babson, babu, babul, Babur, babushka, Babuyan Islands, baby

How to use babu in a sentence

These partially educated Bengalis form the Babu class, and many are employed in the railways.
War in the Garden of Eden|Kermit Roosevelt
Said the Babu when he had talked for an hour and a half, 'I hope some day to enjoy your offeecial acquaintance.
Kim|Rudyard Kipling
The Babu's famous drug-box proved useless, though Kim had restocked it at Bombay.
Kim|Rudyard Kipling
Com-plete in every particular,' said Hurree Babu, rolling into the balcony to clean his teeth at a goglet. '
Kim|Rudyard Kipling

Hurree Babu stepped back a pace or two into the crowd at the entrance of Lucknow station and—was gone.
Kim|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for babu

babu

/ (ˈbɑːbuː) /

noun

(in India) a title or form of address more or less equivalent to Mr, placed before a person's full name or after his first name

Word Origin for babu

Hindi, literally: father

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012