chaprasi
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindi चपरासी (caprāsī).
Noun
chaprasi (plural chaprasis)
- (India) An official of some kind, especially an important attendant or messenger in the household of an Indian landowner.
- 1924, E. M. Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 13:
- A servant in scarlet interrupted him; he was the chuprassy of the Civil Surgeon, and he handed Aziz a note.
- 1934, George Orwell, chapter 22, in Burmese Days:
- Two clerks who had witnessed the scene, and a chaprassi, were sent along to Mr Macgregor's office to corroborate the story. They lied in perfect unison.
- 2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin 2014, p. 78:
- Liveried chaprasis were bringing in wreaths to be placed on Mattoo's body, from the Governor General, Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, heads of industrial houses.
- 1924, E. M. Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 13:
Alternative forms
- chaprassi, chaprassie, chuprassi, chuprassie, chuprassy
Anagrams
- charpais, haircaps