Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A governor in India under the Mughal Empire.
- noun A person of wealth and prominence.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A viceroy or governor of a province in India under the Mogul empire: as, the nabob of Oudh; the nabob of Surat. The nabob was, properly speaking, a subordinate provincial governor, who acted under a soubah or viceroy.
- noun An honorary title occasionally conferred upon Mohammedans of distinction.
- noun An Anglo-Indian who has acquired great wealth and lives in Eastern luxury; hence, any very rich and luxurious man.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A deputy or viceroy in India; a governor of a province of the ancient Mogul empire.
- noun One who returns to Europe from the East with immense riches: hence, any man of great wealth.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
Indian ruler within theMogul empire ; anawab . - noun by extension Someone of great
wealth orimportance . - noun by extension A person with a
grandiose style ormanner .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a governor in India during the Mogul empire
- noun a wealthy man (especially one who made his fortune in the Orient)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I introduced him to her, and left her to improve the impression: 'tis well I was married in time; a nabob is a dangerous rival.
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The family name, indeed, may stem from the same Arabic root as the word nabob, having been brought into Russia by the fourteenth-century Tatar prince Nabok Murza.
Professor Nabokov Updike, John 1980
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One morning, passing through Vessory Bazar, I was greatly shocked at seeing the nabob's elephant take up a little child in his trunk and dash its brains out against the ground; the only reason that could be observed was, that the child had thrown some pebble stones at it; and the only redress the poor disconsolate mother could obtain was a gift of fifty pagodas from the nabob, which is about equal to twenty pounds sterling.
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Nobody, not even his old Eton chums, seemed to know much about him except that he was some kind of nabob, with connections in Leadenhall Street, but he was well received in Society, where his money and manners paid for all.
Flashman's Lady Fraser, George MacDonald, 1925- 1977
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'tis well I was married in time; a nabob is a dangerous rival.
The History of Emily Montague Frances Brooke 1756
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State, -- where he was growing rich fast enough to be able to decline that famous Russian offer which would have made him a kind of nabob in
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 26, December, 1859 Various
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I knew that Brice had been what we used to call a nabob and had made a fortune in India. "
Gatlinburg 2010
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At Christmas -- at every season, indeed -- the hospitable old "nabob" 1 entertained throngs of guests; and, if we choose to go back in fancy, we may see those Virginians of the old age amid their most characteristic surroundings.
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“If your nabob is a nabob, he can very well afford to give madame the furniture.
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State, -- where he was growing rich fast enough to be able to decline that famous Russian offer which would have made him a kind of nabob in a few years.
The Professor at the Breakfast-Table Oliver Wendell Holmes 1851
rolig commented on the word nabob
"In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism. They have formed their own 4-H Club -- the 'hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.' – from a speech about the US press, delivered in 1970 by Spiro Agnew, but written by word maven Willian Safire.
December 6, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word nabob
"Mister Aladdin, sir,
Have a wish or two or three
I'm on the job, you big nabob
You ain't never had a friend,
Never had a friend,
You ain't never had a friend like me."
—"Friend Like Me," Aladdin (1992), lyrics by Howard Ashman
(1992! Christ, I'm old!)
April 7, 2009
rolig commented on the word nabob
1992 is nothing compared to the date of the quote I added "about 1 year ago", which was the first use of "nabob" that ever stuck in my then-young mind. (Gosh, I'm old!)
April 7, 2009
sionnach commented on the word nabob
Then there is the famous speech by Edmund Burke on the Nabob of Arcot's debts.
April 7, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word nabob
Italian version of Aladdin's song.
(One of the best soundtrack adaptations I have ever seen)
April 7, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word nabob
Wow. That's... that was something else! I recognized a few words:
Mister Aladdin (the fourth time I heard it)
ristorante
strega
perche
tutti
baklava
April 8, 2009
sionnach commented on the word nabob
Oh, c'mon c_b, Edmund Burke can be abstruse, but not as abstruse as all that.
(Note use of feigned hilarious misunderstanding technique to spice up the discussion. One can only sit back and wait, hoping desperately that someone will take umbrage, and then watch the fun begin. Because, as is well known, very few Wordies can resist the scent of a possible marathon of phony umbrage taking)
April 8, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word nabob
I have just taken umbrage. (#271 today)
April 8, 2009
reesetee commented on the word nabob
As have I. And I don't even know why.
Pro: Now you've done it. I'll have to watch the whole movie in Italian.
April 8, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word nabob
I have the scent of Play-Doh on my hands. Does that count as umbrage?
In case anyone's wondering why (and I can't imagine why they would, but anyway...), it's because I keep a Play-Doh Party Pack tube on my work desk to snort when times get desperate. A colleague came by with her tube, and we noticed that mine smells better than hers. Hers, which is two years newer, has an added scent component I referred to as "barley-like," before we noticed that her package has a "Warning: Contains Wheat" notice on it and mine does not. Go figure. I take a SERIOUS amount of umbrage at the Hasbro people if they DARED to change the scent patterns of Play-Doh between 2002 and 2004.
Bastards!
April 8, 2009
bilby commented on the word nabob
But why do you snort it?
April 8, 2009
dontcry commented on the word nabob
*snort*
In response to this convo(thanks, Bonnie)I have just taken humongous humbrage (probably much more than I need). That's right, I am an hysterical humbrage hoarder.
April 8, 2009
frogapplause commented on the word nabob
NEWSFLASH: Play-Doh is merging with the makers of Mandles.
April 8, 2009
reesetee commented on the word nabob
What?? They changed the scent of Play-Doh? That's blasphemy!
And by the way, c_b, that's an excellent use of Play-Doh scent. I may just follow your lead.
April 8, 2009
fbharjo commented on the word nabob
If there is anything a wordie hates more than a misspelling, it is a missedsmelling! no smelt too svelte!
April 8, 2009
sionnach commented on the word nabob
What are Mandles? I would have thought they were love handles on men, something akin to michelinitos, but apparently not.
April 8, 2009
bilby commented on the word nabob
The Frogapplause Mandles Big-Box Store is here.
April 8, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word nabob
I love the smell of nabobs in the morning.
March 21, 2012
yarb commented on the word nabob
There used to be a TV advert for Nabob coffee with a cheesy jingle which went "It's a Nabob coffee morning..." implying that people do love the smell of Nabob in the morning.
March 21, 2012
ruzuzu commented on the word nabob
They weren't singing to the tune of "Flight of the Valkyries," were they?
Edit: Sorry--I think Wagner's work was actually called "Ride of the Conchords."
March 21, 2012