A person of great wealth or prominence, especially one who has returned from India with a fortune. Originally, a Muslim official or governor under the Mughal Empire.
From Hindi नवाब (navāb) and Urdu نواب (navāb), meaning 'deputy' or 'governor', derived from Arabic نائب (nā'ib) meaning 'deputy' or 'representative'. The word entered English in the 17th-18th centuries when British traders encountered Mughal officials with this title. It later came to mean any wealthy person, especially British colonials who returned from India with fortunes, leading to the phrase 'nabobs of the East India Company'.
From Mughal deputy governor to symbol of colonial wealth - this word's journey mirrors the rise of British commercial power in India! 'Nabob' became such a byword for nouveau riche ostentation that it influenced American English, where it still means any powerful, wealthy person.
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