memsahib
Sahib's female counterpart
Memsahib was a respectful term of address for a European woman in colonial India, the feminine counterpart of sahib.
Indian servants and subordinates used it when speaking to or about the wife or daughter of a British official or businessman: The memsahib requires tea at four.
The word now evokes the hierarchies and attitudes of the British Raj.
Formal address for women
- mistressIllicit female lover
- ladyCourteous term for woman
- ma'amPolite term for women
- begumMuslim woman of rank
title · address · respect · formality · deference · courtesy · married woman
Colonial-era Indian nursemaid
- bearerOne who conveys something
- punkahSwinging cloth fan
- tiffinLight midday meal
- cantonmentPermanent military station
hill station · club · veranda · bungalow · pith helmet · parasol · raj · plantation
madam
Formal address for women
begum · title · address · respect · formality · deference · courtesy · married woman
ayah
Colonial-era Indian nursemaid
cantonment · hill station · club · veranda · bungalow · pith helmet · parasol · raj · plantation · expatriate
British Raj
Imperial rule over India
- VictorianOf a prim era
- Anglo-IndianBritish-South Asian mix
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
governess · corset · purdah · sepoy · maharajah · rajah · East India Company · Kipling · empire · colonial era
- Anglo-Indianwallah, pukka, raj, ayah, bearer
- British IndiaBritish Raj, East India Company, viceroy, Raj, governor-general
- British RajBritish Raj, British India, East India Company, viceroys, governors
- Desi Wordsdesi, namaste, salaam, bhai, beta
- Indianismsbhai, namaste, chai, daal, dal
- officialsofficial, officials, bailiff, bureaucrat, congressman