This is the standard source-book of the Anglo-Indian language. It not only reveals the origins of many words of Indian origin which have been insinuating themselves into English since the end of the reign of Elizabeth I, but as importantly allows the reader to experience in depth the way of life in 19th-century colonial India.

"A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive."
Hobson-Jobson is a unique work of maverick scholarship. Compiled in 1886 by two India enthusiasts, it documents the words and phrases that entered English from Arabic, Persian, Indian, and Chinese sources - and vice versa. Described by Salman Rushdie as "the legendary dictionary of British India" it shows how words of Indian origin were absorbed into the English language and records not only the vocabulary but the culture of the Raj. Illustrative...