Glossary

Rudyard Kipling


left arrow   Aa—or - Cahors?
left arrow   Aggy Chell - get ahead
left arrow   abby-nay - Not now
left arrow   arder - And a half
left arrow   aasvogel - Vulture

left arrow   babul - Acacia
left arrow   bairagi - Wandering holy man
left arrow   band karo - locked up
left arrow   Bandar - Monkey
left arrow   bat - talk
left arrow   Beebee Miriam - the Virgin Mary
left arrow   biltong - dried meat
left arrow   Blue Fuse - Extreme range
left arrow   boorga - Hurricane
left arrow   bottle-khana - Pantry
left arrow   Bukhshi's - The Commander in chief.
left arrow   bul-bul - Nightingale
left arrow   burra-khana - dinner
left arrow   Burra Sahib - a big man
left arrow   Burra Sahib Bahadur - a very big man indeed
left arrow   bursati - A skin disease of horses
left arrow   bust - Three days leave

left arrow   C.B. - Confined to barracks
left arrow   Chota Bursat - the early rains
left arrow   Churel - The ghost of a woman who has died in childbirth
left arrow   C.I.E. - A Companionship of the order of the Indian Empire.
left arrow   C.S.I. - The order of the Star of India

left arrow   dâk - Stage of a journey — To travel by dak – to travel by relays of palanquins or other carriage, as fast as the post along a road.
left arrow   dammer - Native sealing-wax
left arrow   darwaza band - doors closed, ‘not at home’
left arrow   dasturi - bribes
left arrow   De Contemptu Mundi - Hymn No. 226, A. and M., ‘The world is very evil.’
left arrow   dhoni - native boat
left arrow   Docking and Dowsing - Shoal lights on the East Coast.
left arrow   Dop - Cape brandy
left arrow   duftar - Office

left arrow   ferash - Tamarisk

left arrow   ghora láo - bring my horse
left arrow   guddee - Throne

left arrow   haramzadas - scoundrels
left arrow   Harry By - Mr. Atkins's equivalent for "O brother."
left arrow   hazar-ho - Wait a bit
left arrow   hog-darn - Cigar-lighter
left arrow   hokee-mut - very drunk
left arrow   holluschickie - The young seal
left arrow   hoppin’ - Hop-picking
left arrow   Hum deckty hai - I’m looking out.

left arrow   Imshee kelb - Get out, you dog.

left arrow   jemadar-sais - Head-groom
left arrow   jingal - Native cannon
left arrow   juldee - Be quick
left arrow   jutis - shoes

left arrow   kaa-pi chay-ha-yeh - copy wanted
left arrow   kafilas - Caravans
left arrow   kala juggahs - cosy corners
left arrow   kanats - canvas
left arrow   karela - A wild melon.
left arrow   kikar - Wayside tree
left arrow   kitmutgars - Waiters
left arrow   khansamah - Butler
left arrow   khud - hillside
left arrow   koïl - The Indian bell-bird
left arrow   kul - To-morrow

left arrow   L.G. - Lieutenant-Govenor

left arrow   malliel - The cemetery gardener
left arrow   marrow - Hit you
left arrow   matkas - She-seals
left arrow   Maun Nihâl Seyn - Mount Nelson (?)
left arrow   maxima debetur pueris reverentia - The greatest respect is due to young persons
left arrow   Mlech - The foreigner
left arrow   Mukht-i-Fauj - Salvation Army
left arrow   mussick - Water-skin
left arrow   musth - Mad

left arrow   Nikhal Seyn - Nicholson, a gentleman once of some notoriety in India.
left arrow   Non hoc semper erit liminis aut aquae caelestis patiens latus - ‘This side will not always be patient of rain and waiting on the threshold.’
left arrow   Number Threes - Horse-holders when in action, and therefore generally under cover.

left arrow   Oont - Camel: oo is pronounced like u in "bull", but by Mr. Atkins to rhyme with "front".

left arrow   pagal - idiot
left arrow   panee lao - Bring water swiftly
left arrow   peg - Whisky and soda
left arrow   pêt - stomach
left arrow   Pharisee - A fairy

left arrow   samadh - A memorial
left arrow   sat-bhai - Indian Starlings
left arrow   Screw-Gun - A light artillery piece, made in two parts with the muzzle being screwed into the breech. This allowed the parts of the the gun to be light enough to be carried on mules into inaccessible areas. For more detailed information see http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled10.htm
left arrow   see-catchie - The male seal
left arrow   Sheristada - Clerk of the court
left arrow   shikarred - Hunted
left arrow   shroff - Money-lender
left arrow   simpkin - Champagne
left arrow   skoff - Food
left arrow   slingers - bread soaked in tea
left arrow   Suleiman and Aflatoun - Solomon and Plato

left arrow   talao - Pond or lake
left arrow   Thamesfontein - London
left arrow   Thuu - Literally, a rotted out tree-stump
left arrow   tonga-bar - Bar of the old fashioned curricle that took men up to Simla before the railroad was made.
left arrow   thanca - Police station
left arrow   thirteen-two - Polo-pony
left arrow   tikka dhurzie - hired tailor
left arrow   Trek jou - Get ahead
left arrow   tulsi - The Holy Basil

left arrow   Upsaras - The Choosers of the Slain.

left arrow   Voorloopers - Leading horseman of the enemy
left arrow   V.P.P. - Value Payable Parcels Post: in which the Government collects the money for the sender.


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