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==Etymology==
==Etymology==
The word came to English from [[Urdu]], possibly from [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] [[Nawab|''nawāb'']]/''navāb''/''nabāb'',<ref name="OXF">{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nabob|title=nabob|quote=from Portuguese nababo or Spanish nabab, from Urdu; see also nawab|publisher=oxforddictionaries.com |accessdate=14 February 2012}}</ref> [[Loanword|borrowed]] into English during [[Colonial India|British colonial rule in India]]. It is possible this was via the intermediate [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''nababo'', the Portuguese having preceded the British in [[India]].{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}
The word came to English from [[Urdu]], possibly from [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] [[Nawab|''nawāb'']]/''navāb'',<ref name="OXF">{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nabob|title=nabob|quote=from Portuguese nababo or Spanish nabab, from Urdu; see also nawab|publisher=oxforddictionaries.com |accessdate=14 February 2012}}</ref> [[Loanword|borrowed]] into English during [[Colonial India|British colonial rule in India]]. It is possible this was via the intermediate [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''nababo'', the Portuguese having preceded the British in [[India]].{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}


The origin of the term is from Arabic, in which nuwwāb (نُوَّاب) is the plural form of nā’ib (نَائِب), meaning “deputy”<ref name="www.almaany.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/نواب/|title=نُوّاب|publisher=www.almaany.com |accessdate=7 January 2018}}</ref>. Local Indian rulers were originally given this name as - in theory at least - they deputized on behalf of the Mughal emperor. The use of the plural form is honorific<ref name="wikipedia">{{cite web|url=http://www.wikipedia.com/nawab|title=nawab|publisher=Wikipedia | accessdate=7 January 2018}}</ref>.
The origin of the term is from Arabic, in which nuwwāb (نُوَّاب) is the plural form of nā’ib (نَائِب), meaning “deputy”<ref name="www.almaany.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/نواب/|title=نُوّاب|publisher=www.almaany.com |accessdate=7 January 2018}}</ref>. Local Indian rulers were originally given this name as - in theory at least - they deputized on behalf of the Mughal emperor. The use of the plural form is honorific<ref name="wikipedia">{{cite web|url=http://www.wikipedia.com/nawab|title=nawab|publisher=Wikipedia | accessdate=7 January 2018}}</ref>.

Revision as of 04:36, 29 January 2018

For other uses, see Nabob (disambiguation).

An 1811 caricature of contemporary British nabobs

A nabob /ˈneɪbɒb/ is an Anglo-Indian term for a conspicuously wealthy man who made his fortune in the Orient, especially in India with the privately held East India Company.[1]

Etymology

The word came to English from Urdu, possibly from Hindustani nawāb/navāb,[2] borrowed into English during British colonial rule in India. It is possible this was via the intermediate Portuguese nababo, the Portuguese having preceded the British in India.[citation needed]

The origin of the term is from Arabic, in which nuwwāb (نُوَّاب) is the plural form of nā’ib (نَائِب), meaning “deputy”[3]. Local Indian rulers were originally given this name as - in theory at least - they deputized on behalf of the Mughal emperor. The use of the plural form is honorific[4].

The word entered colloquial usage in England from 1612. Native Europeans used "nabob" to refer to those who returned from India after having made a fortune there.[5][6]

History

The English use of a "nabob" was for a person who become rapidly wealthy in a foreign country, typically India, and returned home with considerable power and influence.[7] In England, the name was applied to men who made fortunes working for the East India Company and, on their return home, used the wealth to purchase seats in Parliament.[8][9]

A common fear was that these individuals – the nabobs, their agents, and those who took their bribes – would use their wealth and influence to corrupt Parliament. The collapse of the Company's finances in 1772 due to bad administration, both in India and Britain, aroused public indignation towards the Company's activities and the behaviour of the Company's employees.[8]

This perception of the pernicious influence wielded by nabobs in both social and political life led to increased scrutiny of the East India Company. A number of prominent Company men underwent inquiries and impeachments on charges of corruption and misrule in India.[8] Warren Hastings, first Governor-General of India, was impeached in 1788 and acquitted in 1795 after a seven-year-long trial. Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, MP for Shrewsbury, was forced to defend himself against charges brought against him in the House of Commons.[5][10] Pitt's India Act of 1784 gave the British government effective control of the private company for the first time. The new policies were designed for an elite civil service career that minimized temptations for corruption.[11]

In late 19th century San Francisco, rapid urbanization led to an exclusive enclave of the rich and famous on the west coast who built large mansions in the Nob Hill neighborhood. This included prominent tycoons such as Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University and other members of The Big Four who were known as nabobs, which was shortened to nob, giving the area its eventual name.[12]

Samuel Foote's 1772 play, The Nabob, was a comedy satirizing those who gained money from the East India Company.

The term was once memorably used by American wordsmith William Safire in a speech written for United States President Richard Nixon's then vice-president, Spiro Agnew (1969–1974). In a diatribe which received heavy media coverage Saphire had Agnew, increasingly identified with his scathing attacks on that administration's critics, painting these opponents as "nattering nabobs of negativism".[13]

The 1992 Disney movie Aladdin includes a song where the Genie calls Aladdin a nabob.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Smylitopoulos, Christina (2012). "Portrait of a Nabob: Graphic Satire, Portraiture, and the Anglo-Indian in the Late Eighteenth Century" (PDF). Canadian Art Review. 37 (1).
  2. ^ "nabob". oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 14 February 2012. from Portuguese nababo or Spanish nabab, from Urdu; see also nawab
  3. ^ "نُوّاب". www.almaany.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  4. ^ "nawab". Wikipedia. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b "nabobical – Word Origin & History – nabob". dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 14 February 2012. 1612, "deputy governor in Mogul Empire," Anglo-Indian, from Hindi nabab, from Arabic nuwwab
  6. ^ "nabob (governor)". Memidex.com. Retrieved 14 February 2012. Etymology:Hindi nawāb, nabāb, from Arabic nuwwāb, plural of nā'ib, deputy, active...
  7. ^ J. Albert Rorabacher (2016). Property, Land, Revenue, and Policy: The East India Company, C.1757–1825. Taylor & Francis. p. 236.
  8. ^ a b c Related Information – Did you know?.
  9. ^ "nawab, English nabob". britannica.com. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  10. ^ "Tillman Nechtman, "Nabobs: Empire and Identity in Eighteenth-Century Britain" Cambridge University Press, 2010". newbooksinsouthasianstudies.com. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  11. ^ Tristram Hunt (2014). Cities of Empire: The British Colonies and the Creation of the Urban World. Henry Holt. p. 208.
  12. ^ "Nob Hill - A Touch of Class". Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  13. ^ LANCE MORROW (30 September 1996). "Morrow, L. "Naysayer to the nattering nabobs."". Time. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  14. ^ "A Friend Like Me on Youtube". youtube.com. Retrieved 8 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
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