babu
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ba·bu
also ba·boo (bä′bo͞o)n. pl. ba·bus also ba·boos
1. Used as a Hindi courtesy title for a man, equivalent to Mr.
2.
a. A Hindu clerk who is literate in English.
b. Offensive A South Asian who has acquired some superficial education in English.
[Hindi bābū, father.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
babu
(ˈbɑːbuː)n
(in India) a title or form of address more or less equivalent to Mr, placed before a person's full name or after his first name
[Hindi, literally: father]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ba•bu
(ˈbɑ bu)n. (in S Asia, esp. under British rule)
1. (a term used to refer to a native Indian clerical employee with a knowledge of English.)
2. Usually Disparaging. (a term used to refer to any culturally Anglicized, English-speaking South Asian.)
[1875–80; < Hindi bābū, a title equivalent to Sir or Mr., literally, father]
usage: Definition 2 is usually used with disparaging intent, implying that the English of such persons is florid and unidiomatic.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | babu - used as a Hindi courtesy title; equivalent to English `Mr' adult male, man - an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman); "there were two women and six men on the bus" |
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