memsahibs
British ladies abroad
Memsahibs is the plural of memsahib, a term from colonial India for a European woman of authority or social standing—the female counterpart to sahib.
British women married to colonial officials were addressed this way by Indian servants and subordinates: The memsahibs gathered for tea on the veranda.
The word now evokes the class dynamics and racial hierarchies of the British Raj.
Colonial period in India
- ayahColonial-era Indian nursemaid
- bungalowOne-story house with porch
- verandaRoofed open-air porch
- pith helmetLightweight tropical sun hat
tiffin · hill station · compound · pukka · sundowner · clubhouse · residency · bearer
Domestic unit of residents
- servantsHired household workers
- ayahColonial-era Indian nursemaid
- bearerOne who conveys something
- cookHeat food for eating
gardener · managing · supervising · entertaining · menus · staff · nursery · children
Rule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- privilegedHaving special advantages
- refinedPurified or cultured
- sophisticatedWorldly and cultured
socialites · exclusive · prestigious · tea parties · calling cards · etiquette · propriety · hostess
In foreign territory
- foreignerNon-native person
- settlerOne who colonizes territory
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- transplantMove tissue between bodies
homesickness · letters home · homeland · adaptation · isolation · social club · compatriots · nostalgia
raj
Colonial period in India
pith helmet · tiffin · hill station · compound · pukka · sundowner · clubhouse · residency · bearer · servants
household
Domestic unit of residents
cook · gardener · managing · supervising · entertaining · menus · staff · nursery · children · nanny
aristocracy
Rule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- privilegedHaving special advantages
- refinedPurified or cultured
sophisticated · socialites · exclusive · prestigious · tea parties · calling cards · etiquette · propriety · hostess · drawing room
abroad
In foreign territory
transplant · homesickness · letters home · homeland · adaptation · isolation · social club · compatriots · nostalgia
memsahibsservants
Hired household workers
bearers · coolies · maidservants · indigenous women · sepoys