babu

[ bah-boo ]

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

  2. a Hindu gentleman.

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

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

Origin of babu

1
First recorded in 1875–80, babu is from the Hindi word bābū
  • Also ba·boo .

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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
  1. (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

Origin of babu

1
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