nabob
/ˈneɪbɑb/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.68 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An Indian ruler within the Mogul empire.
noun
Someone of great wealth or importance.
Example Sentences
- "They have drained the treasuries of Nabobs, who must fill them by oppressing the industry of their subjects."
- "Mr. Glentworth had never quitted Europe, and his wealth was either good English landed property, or equally undeniable English consols; still he was a stranger, very rich, and suddenly come from abroad. Such a man was necessarily a nabob in Mr. Palmer's eyes. India had been the place for making large fortunes in his young days."
- "Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster."
Etymology
In colloquial usage in English since 1612, from a corruption of Hindustani नवाब (navāb) / نواب (navāb, “nawab”), perhaps via Portuguese nababo, from Classical Persian نَوَّاب (nawwāb), from Arabic نُوَّاب (nuwwāb), the honorific plural of نَائِب (nāʔib, “deputy”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: nababo, نَوَّاب, نُوَّاب, ن و ب
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈneɪbɑb/
- British English: /ˈneɪbɒb/