Pukka sahib

Pukka sahib (/ˈpʌkə ˈsɑː(ɪ)b/ PUK-ə SAH(-i)b)[1] is a slang term taken from the Hindi words for "substantial" (literally "ripe") and "master". Among English users, "pukka" came to signify "first class" or "absolutely genuine", so that the combined phrase can be translated as "true gentleman" or "excellent fellow". The expression was used in the British Empire exclusively to refer to White people of European extraction and frequently to describe an attitude which British administrators were said to affect, that of an "aloof, impartial, incorruptible arbiter of the political fate of a large part of the earth's surface."[2]

The word "pukka" is still used informally in 21st-century Britain to describe something as excellent.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ OED.
  2. ^ "Race against Time", M. Freedman, Phylon, 1953.
  3. ^ "Meaning of pukka in English". Lexico. Oxford University Press/Dictionary.com. 2022. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
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