brown sahib

noun

An Indian sycophant acting on behalf of the British.

Meanings

nounbrown sahib (plural brown sahibs)

plural brown sahibs · alternative Brown sahib

  1. BritishIndiaderogatoryAn Indian sycophant acting on behalf of the British.

Origin

From (ethnic slur) brown (“South Asian”) and sahib (“a term of respect for a white European in colonial India”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

brown sahib. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brown%20sahib

MLA

“brown sahib.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brown%20sahib. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brown sahib,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brown%20sahib.

Source: brown sahib on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.