The Esoteric Wordsmyth
Nabob
Nabob pronounced \nā’ib\ In colloquial usage in English since 1612, from Urdu > Persian > the honorific plural of Arabic نائب (nā’ib, ‘deputy’).
A very rich man, especially one who acquired his fortune in India. From the Hindustani word ‘nawab,’ term for a ruler in the Mogul Empire. An individual of great wealth or importance, with a grandiose style or manner.
‘Lord Saxelbye, although of ancient ancestry, owed his newly minted title, to the proceeds of his recent successes in the Hindustan, making him a peer of the realm as a result of well as a nabob of unlimited riches!’ Nash Rambler
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