A traveling merchant or peddler in India, especially one who sold provisions to armies during colonial times; a supplier or itinerant trader.
From Hindi/Urdu 'banjāra' (traveling merchant), adopted into English during the British Raj period when such traders were common in colonial India.
The brinjarees were essential to colonial armies in India—they followed behind, selling food and supplies, and became so common that their Hindi name entered colonial English.
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