dubash means an Indian translator or interpreter, particularly in their role as a household steward for British colonizers.
Why “dubash” is a great word
An interpreter and household steward who served as a linguistic and cultural intermediary for European colonizers in India, from Hindi दो (do, "two") + भाषा (bhāṣā, "language"), literally meaning 'two languages'. Unlike a general interpreter, who merely translates, or a munshi, who acted as a secretary or teacher, the dubash was a broker of entire worlds. He was the necessary shadow in the bazaar, the voice shaping negotiations in the courtyard, and the ambiguous figure standing between the veranda and the compound—a living conduit through which power and misunderstanding endlessly flowed, belonging finally to neither.
Etymology
From Hindi दो (do, “two”) + भाषा (bhāṣā, “languages”).
noun
- An Indian translator or interpreter, particularly in their role as a household steward for British colonizers.e.g.“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
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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