dubash

D2U1B3A1S1H4

noun

An Indian translator or interpreter, particularly in their role as a household steward for British colonizers.

OriginHindi दो →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

noundubash (plural dubashes)

plural dubashes · alternative debash · alternative dobash

  1. IndiahistoricalAn Indian translator or interpreter, particularly in their role as a household steward for British colonizers.

    […] inhabitants complain to him, and as he does not understand the language he is obliged to call for his dubash to interpret what they say; […]

    1844, Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington, John Gurwood, The Dispatches of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, page 1625
    1 more example

    This I learnt was the captain's dubash, a native man acting as general steward who provides every household article as well as of merchandise, and engages all inferior servants.

    1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 90

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
interpretertranslator

Origin

  1. Hindiदो“two”
  2. Englishdubash

From Hindi दो (do, “two”) + भाषा (bhāṣā, “languages”).

More words from Hindi

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

dubash. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dubash

MLA

“dubash.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dubash. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dubash,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dubash.

Source: dubash on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.