Etymology

babu

B3A1B3U1

Today it means: A Hindu title of respect, equivalent to Mr., usually appended to the surname of a Hindu man. Full definition →

First used 18th c.Hindi बाबू
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The story

  1. Hindi · borrowed fromबाबू
  2. Hindi · borrowed fromबाबू
  3. English todaybabu

Borrowed from Hindi बाबू (bābū), from Proto-New Indo-Aryan *बाब्ब (bābba), imitative of baby talk.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 18th c. A Hindu title of respect, equivalent to Mr., usually appended to the surname of a Hindu man.
  • from 19th c. Originally, a Hindu gentleman employed to work as a clerk for the colonial administration; now, a clerk or low-ranking government official.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.