babu
See also: Babu and baboe
English
Alternative forms
- baboo (dated)
Etymology
From Hindi बाबू (bābū).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɑːbuː/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Noun
babu (plural babus)
- (India) A Hindu title of respect, equivalent to Mr., usually appended to the surname of a Hindu man [from 18th c.]
- 1989, Amitav Ghosh, Shadow Lines:
- I could see Kana-babu’s sweet-shop at the end of their lane with absolute clarity.
- 1989, Amitav Ghosh, Shadow Lines:
- (India) (Originally) a Hindu gentleman employed to work as a clerk for the colonial administration; now, a clerk or low-ranking government official. [from 19th c.]
- 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘His Chance in Life’, Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 57:
- The Babu put on his cap and quietly dropped out of the window
- 1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Chapter 2”, in Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, OCLC 1810828:
- Office babus are the real rulers of this country now. Our number's up. Best thing we can do is to shut up shop and let 'em stew in their own juice.
- 2014, James Lambert, “Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis”, in World Englishes, page 116:
- From the prevailing colonial perspective, the English of the babus was error-ridden and characterised by over-elaborate ornateness, and for these ‘transgressions’ it became the butt of native-speaker ridicule.
- 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘His Chance in Life’, Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 57:
Derived terms
- babu English
- babudom
- babuism
Brunei Malay
Etymology
From Javanese ꦧꦧꦸ (babu, “female servant”, literally “mother”), from Old Javanese babu (“mother; older servant”), wawuh (“familiar, acquainted”).
Noun
babu
- A mother.
- Synonym: mama
- An aunt.
- Term for any middle-aged or elderly woman.
Bunun
Etymology
From Proto-Austronesian *babuy.
Noun
babu
- pig (livestock)
Indonesian
Etymology
From Javanese ꦧꦧꦸ (babu, “female servant”, literally “mother”), from Old Javanese babu (“mother; older servant”), wawuh (“familiar, acquainted”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbabu/
- Hyphenation: ba‧bu
- Rhymes: -bu, -u
Noun
babu (plural babu-babu, first-person possessive babuku, second-person possessive babumu, third-person possessive babunya)
- housemaid
Derived terms
- memperbabu
- babu cuci
- babu dalam
- babu masak
- babu tetek
See also
- jongos
Further reading
- “babu” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Jarawa
Etymology
From Hindi बाबू (bābū). Cognate to Önge babu.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /babu/
Noun
babu
- official, officer (of the Indian government of the Andamans)
References
- Kumar, Pramod (2012). Descriptive and Typological Study of Jarawa (PhD). Jawaharlal Nehru University. Page 111, 141, 187.
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈbabu]
Noun
babu
- accusative/instrumental singular of baba
Serbo-Croatian
Noun
babu (Cyrillic spelling бабу)
- accusative singular of baba
Shabo
Adjective
babu
- two
Slovak
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈbabu]
Noun
babu
- accusative singular of baba
Swahili
Pronunciation
Audio (Kenya) (file)
Noun
babu (n class, plural babu)
- grandfather (from either side)
Coordinate terms
- bibi
Tagalog
Alternative forms
- vavu
Etymology
A play on babay or English bye-bye.
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ba‧bu
- IPA(key): /baˈbu/, [bɐˈbu]
Interjection
babú (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊᜓ)
- (slang) goodbye; ta ta
- Synonyms: paalam, babay
Ternate
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈba.bu]
Verb
babu (Jawi بابو)
- (intransitive) (of humans) to fall
- ngofa ibabu ― children fall
- ibabu toma kaha ― they fell on the ground
- Synonym: doro (of non-humans)
- (intransitive) to be overthrown
Conjugation
| Conjugation of babu | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Inclusive | Exclusive | |||
| 1st | tobabu | fobabu | mibabu | |
| 2nd | nobabu | nibabu | ||
| 3rd | Masculine | obabu | ibabu, yobabu† | |
| Feminine | mobabu | |||
| Neuter | ibabu | |||
| † - archaic | ||||
References
- Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
- Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh
Veps
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *papu. The initial b- was introduced by analogy with Russian боб (bob).
Noun
babu
- bean
Inflection
| Inflection of babu (inflection type 1/ilo) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative sing. | babu | ||
| genitive sing. | babun | ||
| partitive sing. | babud | ||
| partitive plur. | babuid | ||
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | babu | babud | |
| accusative | babun | babud | |
| genitive | babun | babuiden | |
| partitive | babud | babuid | |
| essive-instructive | babun | babuin | |
| translative | babuks | babuikš | |
| inessive | babus | babuiš | |
| elative | babuspäi | babuišpäi | |
| illative | babuhu | babuihe | |
| adessive | babul | babuil | |
| ablative | babulpäi | babuilpäi | |
| allative | babule | babuile | |
| abessive | babuta | babuita | |
| comitative | babunke | babuidenke | |
| prolative | babudme | babuidme | |
| approximative I | babunno | babuidenno | |
| approximative II | babunnoks | babuidennoks | |
| egressive | babunnopäi | babuidennopäi | |
| terminative I | babuhusai | babuihesai | |
| terminative II | babulesai | babuilesai | |
| terminative III | babussai | — | |
| additive I | babuhupäi | babuihepäi | |
| additive II | babulepäi | babuilepäi | |
References
- Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “боб”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika
Yindjibarndi
Noun
babu
- father