Note: Many British military slang words had an Indian origin and spread from there throughout the world. In this list, I put words that I think might have been used by either British or Indians or words that were specific to India. In the British list, I put those words and phrases that were Anglicized and that I think Indians would not have used, such as pukka sahib. This is a purely subjective placement and very likely full of errors. I could place certain words in both lists, but that, too, would likely be wrong, while placing them in one list requires less effort.
|
akhond |
Afghanistan religious teacher |
|
amir |
Afghanistan military/political commander |
|
angarka |
Afghanistan loose, white robe |
| anna | Coin worth 1/16th of a rupee |
|
arbab |
Afghanistan leader |
| babu or baboo | Hindu gentleman or clerk. As an insult, an Indian who has some English education. (Hindi babu, father) |
|
badmash |
Scoundrel |
| bahadur | Term of respect (Hindi for champion) |
| bandobast | Organization, a battalion (Hindi) |
| barra | Great, large--opposite of chota |
|
batta |
Special pay for Indian sepoys stationed outside India |
|
Bengal Army |
The most prestigious of the four British Indian armies. |
| bhang | Hemp, hashish (Hindi bhag) |
|
bobbajee |
British name for an Indian cook. |
|
Bombay Army |
One of the four original British Indian armies. |
| bungalow | One-storied house with a low-pitched roof (Hindi bangla, "in the Bengal style") |
| cantonments | Permanent British military bases usually located just outside of a town or city |
|
chadar |
Cloak |
| cha (or char) | Tea |
| cha wallah | Hot tea seller |
|
chaplies |
Sandals |
|
Chitrali |
A non-Pathan Afghanistan tribe known for treachery, greed, and cruelty. |
| choola | Cooking place, clay oven |
| chota | Small, opposite of barra |
| cutch, kutcha | Inferior, crude, the opposite of pukka |
|
dafadar |
Indian cavalry sergeant |
| dhobi | Washing |
|
dhodie |
Indian bearers |
|
dhoolie |
Medical stretcher. Also, a light litter often used for carrying the sick or wounded |
| dhoti | Loincloth wore by some men in India (Hindi dhoti) |
| durwan | Doorman |
|
fakir |
Indian holy man, wonder worker (Arabic faqIr, poor man) |
|
Ghazi |
Afghanistan Fighter for the Faith, fanatic |
| ghi, ghee | Clarified butter, used as cooking oil (Hindi ghi, from Sanskrit ghrta) |
|
goralog |
Afghanistan name for Europeans |
| grass widow | A married woman at a British hill-station temporarily separated from her husband who was on assignment elsewhere. |
|
Great Game, The |
British idea that Russia was secretly trying to invade India by way of Afghanistan. It created a cold-war mentality. |
|
Gurkha |
Mercenary soldier in the British army, from Nepal. |
| haramzadas | Bastards, scoundrels, a common term in India (of Arabic/Persian origin) |
|
havildar |
Indian infantry sergeant |
|
havildar major |
Indian infantry color sergeant |
| hazar | "Get ready." |
| Howdah Pistol | Very large pistol (usually .60 cal. and up) intended for close-quarters use against tigers. Breech-loaders or muzzleloaders, usually single or multi-barreled, but occasionally revolvers. Carried in the howdah of a hunting elephant, and also by European officers who doubted the efficacy of service revolvers on fanatic native warriors. |
|
hubshi |
Negro, woolly-head, (Hindustani, from Arabic habashi, Persian habshi) |
|
huzoor |
Lord (Pushtu) |
|
idderao |
Come here |
|
jao |
Go away |
|
jawan |
Soldier |
|
jemadar |
Indian junior officer (subaltern, 2nd lieutenant) |
|
jezail |
Afghanistan very long musket |
|
jihad or jehad |
Holy war for Islam (Arabic) |
|
jirga |
Afghanistan assembly of tribal leaders |
|
John Company |
Honorable East India Company, founded in 1599 and which governed India from 1833-1858 |
|
juldi |
Hurry up |
|
Kabul |
The capital city of Afghanistan |
| kali-pani | Ocean (Hindi black water) |
|
khabadar |
Be careful |
|
khak |
Persian for dust or dirt, root word for khaki. |
| Khalsa | Literally "the Pure"; the Sikh Army |
|
khan |
Afghanistan chieftain or prince (related to Turkish han prince) |
| khansamah | Butler |
|
khel |
Afghanistan for clan |
| khud | Anglo-Indian for steep hillside or cliff |
|
Khyber Pass |
33 mile long mountain pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan. |
| kila | Castle |
|
Kot daffadar |
Indian cavalry color sergeant |
|
kotal |
Afghanistan mountain pass |
| krait | A small but very venomous nocturnal snake (Hindi karait) |
|
kullah |
Afghanistan pointed cap |
|
lal pagriwalas |
Afghanistan name for Sikhs (red turbaned) |
|
lance daffadar |
Indian cavalry corporal |
|
lashkar |
Tribal grouping of armed men, army |
|
lungi |
Afghanistan sash |
|
Madras Army |
The oldest of the four British Indian armies. |
|
mahout |
Indian elephant driver (Hindi mahawat, mahaut) |
|
maidan |
Flat area, parade ground |
| majoon | Green sweetmeat containing bhang (hashish) |
|
malik |
Afghanistan headman |
|
martial classes, the |
Those natives the British considered to be good warriors: Sikhs, Pathans, Gurkhas, etc. |
|
memsahib |
European woman in India (Hindi, from English ma'am + Hindi sahib sahib) |
|
Mujhaddin |
Afghanistan fanatic sect called Warriors of God. |
|
mullah |
Afghanistan educated religious leader (Arabic mawla) |
|
munshi |
Language teacher |
|
naik |
Indian corporal |
| nautch | A type of Indian dance performed by women, also used for a European ball or formal dance |
|
nullah |
Small valley or ravine, dry watercourse |
|
Pakhtunwali |
The Pathan code of honor. Warriors must follow it or risk being ostracized. |
| paltan | Battalion, military unit |
|
Pathan |
Afghanistan tribe (Hindi from Pashto Pakhtun) |
|
pani |
Water (Hindi) |
|
pani wallah |
Water carrier |
|
pongelow |
Beer |
|
poshteen |
Afghanistan sheepskin coat with hair worn on the inside |
|
puggarree |
Cloth wrapped around turban |
| pukka | Excellent, opposite of cutch or kuctha |
| pundit | A learned man, (Hindi pandit, from Sanskrit pandita, from pandita learned) |
|
Punjab |
The region running from NW India into Pakistan |
| punkah | A fan in India consisting of a canvas-covered frame suspended from the ceiling and operated by a cord (Hindi pakha) |
| purdah | Literally, "one who sits behind a curtain". The seclusion of Muslim and some Hindu women. (Hindi parda, literally, screen, veil) |
| razzia | Attack on unbelievers |
|
rissaldar |
Indian cavalry officer (1st lieutenant) |
|
rissaldar-major |
Senior Indian cavalry officer |
|
rupee |
Indian currency (Hindi rupaiya from Sanskrit rupya, coined silver) |
|
sahib |
Sir or master--used to address Europeans (Hindi saheb, from Arabic sahib) |
|
sangar |
Temporary shallow fortifications, normally built of loose stone. |
| screw gun | British - A light artillery gun [2.75 inch - 70mm] of the Indian Artillery that could be taken apart for easier transport by mules and then reassembled when needed. Especially useful in mountainous or other bad terrain.. Used in India and the Northwest Frontier during colonial days, and in the invasion of Mesopotamia during the Great War. |
|
sepoy |
Indian infantryman in an European army (Portuguese sipai, from Hindi sipahi, cavalryman) |
|
shabash! |
Bravo, a cry of admiration |
|
Sikh |
Follower of a monotheistic Indian religion (Hindi meaning disciple) |
|
silladar |
Indian cavalryman who provided his own equipment |
| sirdar | Hereditary noble or other person of high rank (Hindi sardar, from Persian) |
| Sirkar | the British government in India, the head of domestic government |
|
sowar |
Indian cavalryman |
|
subedar |
Indian infantry officer (1st lieutenant) |
|
subedar-major |
Senior Indian infantry officer |
| suttee | Widow burning. Hindu widow who chose to be cremated on the funeral pyre of her husband as an indication of her devotion to him (Sanskrit sati wife who performs suttee, literally, devoted woman, from feminine of sat true, good; akin to Old English soth, true) |
|
Swatis |
Afghanistan tribe |
| syce | Attendant or groom (Hindi sais, from Arabic sa'is) |
| Thug | Literally, deceiver. Worshippers of Kali who ritually murdered travelers, usually with a cloth scarf (thugee cord). (Hindi thag, thief) |
| tonga | Small two-wheeled cart drawn by a pony |
| top khana | Artillery battery |
| veranda | Roofed open gallery attached to the exterior of a building (Hindi varanda) |
| wallah | Person associated with an activity--for example, dhoolie wallah for stretcher bearer |
| zamindar | A minor landlord in British India paying the government a fixed revenue (Hindi zamindar, from Persian, from zamin land + -dar holder) |
|
zar, zan, zamin |
Gold, land, women - things to fight for in Afghanistan. |
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