Chapter XIV: Preface: TO SECOND EDITION xi (11)

BEYPOOR, n.p. Properly _Veppūr_, or _Bēppūr_, [derived from Malayāl. _veppu_, 'deposit,' _ur_, 'village,' a place formed by the receding of the sea, which has been turned into the Skt. form _Vāyupura_, 'the town of the Wind-god']. The terminal town of the Madras Railway on the Malabar coast. It stands north of the river; whilst the railway station is on the S. of the river—(see CHALIA). Tippoo Sahib tried to make a great port of Beypoor, and to call it Sultanpatnam. [It is one of the many places which have been suggested as the site of Ophir (_Logan, Malabar_, i. 246), and is probably the _Belliporto_ of Tavernier, "where there was a fort which the Dutch had made with palms" (ed. _Ball_, i. 235).]

1572.—

"Chamará o Samorim mais gente nova;
Virão Reis de BIPUR, e de Tanor...."
_Camões_, x. 14.

1727.—"About two Leagues to the Southward of _Calecut_, is a fine River
called BAYPORE, capable to receive ships of 3 or 400 Tuns."—_A.
Hamilton_, i. 322.

BEZOAR, s. This word belongs, not to the A.-Indian colloquial, but to the language of old oriental trade and _materia medica_. The word is a corruption of the P. name of the thing, _pādzahr_, 'pellens venenum,' or _pāzahr_. The first form is given by Meninski as the etymology of the word, and this is accepted by Littré [and the _N.E.D._]. The quotations of Littré from Ambrose Paré show that the word was used generically for 'an antidote,' and in this sense it is used habitually by Avicenna. No doubt the term came to us, with so many others, from Arab medical writers, so much studied in the Middle Ages, and this accounts for the _b_, as Arabic has no _p_, and writes _bāzahr_. But its usual application was, and is, limited to certain hard concretions found in the bodies of animals, to which antidotal virtues were ascribed, and especially to one obtained from the stomach of a wild goat in the Persian province of Lar. Of this animal and the _bezoar_ an account is given in Kaempfer's _Amoenitates Exoticae_, pp. 398 _seqq._ The _Bezoar_ was sometimes called SNAKE-STONE, and erroneously supposed to be found in the head of a snake. It may have been called so really because, as Ibn Baithar states, such a stone was laid upon the bite of a venomous creature (and was believed) to extract the poison. Moodeen Sheriff, in his Suppt. to the Indian Pharmacopœia, says there are various _bezoars_ in use (in native _mat. med._), distinguished according to the animal producing them, as a goat-, camel-, fish-, and snake-_bezoar_; the last quite distinct from SNAKE-STONE (q.v.).

[A false Bezoar stone gave occasion for the establishment of one of the great distinctions in our Common Law, viz. between actions founded upon contract, and those founded upon wrongs: _Chandelor_ v. _Lopus_ was decided in 1604 (reported in 2. _Croke_, and in _Smith's Leading Cases_). The head-note runs—"The defendant sold to the plaintiff a stone, which he affirmed to be a Bezoar stone, but which proved not to be so. No action lies against him, unless he either knew that it was not a Bezoar stone, or warranted it to be a Bezoar stone" (quoted by _Gray, Pyrard de Laval_, Hak. Soc. ii. 484).]

1516.—Barbosa writes PAJAR.

[1528.—"Near this city (Lara) in a small mountain are bred some animals
of the size of a buck, in whose stomach grows a stone they call
BAZAR."—_Tenreiro_, ch. iii. p. 14.]

[1554.—Castanheda (I. ch. 46) calls the animal whence bezoar comes
_bagoldaf_, which he considers an Indian word.]

c. 1580.—"... adeo ut ex solis BEZAHAR nonnulla vasa conflata viderim,
maxime apud eos qui a venenis sibi cavere student."—_Prosper Alpinus_,
Pt. i. p. 56.

1599.—"Body o' me, a shrewd mischance. Why, had you no unicorn's horn,
nor BEZOAR'S stone about you, ha?"—_B. Jonson, Every Man out of his
Humour_, Act v. sc. 4.

[ " "BEZAR sive BAZAR"; see quotation under MACE.]

1605.—The King of Bantam sends K. James I. "two BEASAR
stones."—_Sainsbury_, i. 143.

1610.—"The Persian calls it, _par excellence_, PAZAHAR, which is as much
as to say 'antidote' or more strictly 'remedy of poison or venom,' from
_Zahar_, which is the general name of any poison, and _pá_, 'remedy'; and
as the Arabic lacks the letter _p_, they replace it by _b_, or _f_, and
so they say, instead of _Pázahar_, _Bázahar_, and we with a little
additional corruption BEZAR."—_P. Teixeira, Relaciones, &c._, p. 157.

1613.—"... elks, and great snakes, and apes of BAZAR stone, and every
kind of game birds."—_Godinho de Eredia_, 10_v._

1617.—"... late at night I drunke a little BEZAS stone, which gave me
much paine most parte of night, as though 100 Wormes had byn knawing at
my hart; yet it gave me ease afterward."—_Cocks's Diary_, i. 301; [in i.
154 he speaks of "BEZA stone"].

1634.—Bontius claims the etymology just quoted from Teixeira,
erroneously, as his own.—Lib. iv. p. 47.

1673.—"The Persians then call this stone PAZAHAR, being a compound of
_Pa_ and _Zahar_, the first of which is _against_, and the other is
_Poyson_."—_Fryer_, 238.

" "The Monkey BEZOARS which are long, are the best...."—_Ibid._
212.

1711.—"In this animal (Hog-deer of Sumatra, apparently a sort of
chevrotain or _Tragulus_) is found the bitter BEZOAR, called _Pedra di
Porco Siacca_, valued at ten times its Weight in Gold."—_Lockyer_, 49.

1826.—"What is spikenard? what is _mumiai_? what is PAHZER? compared even
to a twinkle of a royal eye-lash?"—_Hajji Baba_, ed. 1835, p. 148.

BHAT, s. H. &c. _bhāṭ_ (Skt. _bhàṭṭa_, a title of respect, probably connected with _bhàrtṛi_, 'a supporter or master'), a man of a tribe of mixed descent, whose members are professed genealogists and poets; a bard. These men in Rājputāna and Guzerat had also extraordinary privileges as the guarantors of travellers, whom they accompanied, against attack and robbery. See an account of them in _Forbes's Rās Mālā_, I. ix. &c., reprint 558 _seqq._; [for Bengal, _Risley, Tribes & Castes_, i. 101 seqq.; for the N.W.P., _Crooke, Tribes & Castes_, ii. 20 _seqq._

[1554.—"BATS," see quotation under RAJPUT.]

c. 1555.—"Among the infidel Bānyāns in this country (Guzerat) there is a
class of _literati_ known as BĀTS. These undertake to be guides to
traders and other travellers ... when the caravans are waylaid on the
road by _Rāshbūts_, _i.e._ Indian horsemen, coming to pillage them, the
BĀT takes out his dagger, points it at his own breast, and says: 'I have
become surety! If aught befals the caravan I must kill myself!' On these
words the Rāshbūts let the caravan pass unharmed."—_Sidi 'Ali_, 95.

[1623.—"Those who perform the office of Priests, whom they call
BOTI."—_P. della Valle_, Hak. Soc. i. 80.]

1775.—"The Hindoo rajahs and Mahratta chieftains have generally a BHAUT
in the family, who attends them on public occasions ... sounds their
praise, and proclaims their titles in hyperbolical and figurative
language ... many of them have another mode of living; they offer
themselves as security to the different governments for payment of their
revenue, and the good behaviour of the Zemindars, patels, and public
farmers; they also become guarantees for treaties between native princes,
and the performance of bonds by individuals."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ ii. 89;
[2nd ed. i. 377; also see ii. 258]. See TRAGA.

1810.—"India, like the nations of Europe, had its minstrels and poets,
concerning whom there is the following tradition: At the marriage of Siva
and Parvatty, the immortals having exhausted all the amusements then
known, wished for something new, when Siva, wiping the drops of sweat
from his brow, shook them to earth, upon which the BAWTS, or Bards,
immediately sprang up."—_Maria Graham_, 169.

1828.—"A 'BHAT' or Bard came to ask a gratuity."—_Heber_, ed. 1844, ii.
53.

BHEEL, n.p. Skt. _Bhilla_; H. _Bhīl_. The name of a race inhabiting the hills and forests of the Vindhya, Malwa, and of the N.-Western Deccan, and believed to have been the aborigines of Rājputāna; some have supposed them to be the Φυλλῖται of Ptolemy. They are closely allied to the COOLIES (q.v.) of Guzerat, and are believed to belong to the _Kolarian_ division of Indian aborigines. But no distinct Bhīl language survives.

1785.—"A most infernal yell suddenly issued from the deep ravines. Our
guides informed us that this was the noise always made by the BHEELS
previous to an attack."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ iii. 480.

1825.—"All the BHEELS whom we saw to-day were small, slender men, less
broad-shouldered ... and with faces less Celtic than the Puharees of the
Rajmahal.... Two of them had rude swords and shields, the remainder had
all bows and arrows."—_Heber_, ed. 1844, ii. 75.

BHEEL, s. A word used in Bengal—_bhīl_: a marsh or lagoon; same as JEEL (q.v.)

[1860.—"The natives distinguish a lake so formed by a change in a river's
course from one of usual origin or shape by calling the former a
_bowr_—whilst the latter is termed a BHEEL."—_Grant, Rural Life in
Bengal_, 35.]

1879.—"Below Shouy-doung there used to be a big BHEEL, wherein I have
shot a few duck, teal, and snipe."—_Pollok, Sport in B. Burmah_, i. 26.

BHEESTY, s. The universal word in the Anglo-Indian households of N. India for the domestic (corresponding to the _saḳḳā_ of Egypt) who supplies the family with water, carrying it in a MUSSUCK, (q.v.), or goatskin, slung on his back. The word is P. _bihishtī_, a person of _bihisht_ or paradise, though the application appears to be peculiar to Hindustan. We have not been able to trace the history of this term, which does not apparently occur in the _Āīn_, even in the curious account of the way in which water was cooled and supplied in the Court of Akbar (_Blochmann_, tr. i. 55 _seqq._), or in the old travellers, and is not given in Meninski's lexicon. Vullers gives it only as from Shakespear's Hindustani Dict. [The trade must be of ancient origin in India, as the leather bag is mentioned in the Veda and Manu (_Wilson, Rig Veda_, ii. 28; _Institutes_, ii. 79.) Hence Col. Temple (_Ind. Ant._, xi. 117) suggests that the word is Indian, and connects it with the Skt. _vish_, 'to sprinkle.'] It is one of the fine titles which Indian servants rejoice to bestow on one another, like _Mehtar_, _Khalīfa_, &c. The title in this case has some justification. No class of men (as all Anglo-Indians will agree) is so diligent, so faithful, so unobtrusive, and uncomplaining as that of the _bihishtīs_. And often in battle they have shown their courage and fidelity in supplying water to the wounded in face of much personal danger.

[c. 1660.—"Even the menials and carriers of water belonging to that
nation (the Pathāns) are high-spirited and war-like."—_Bernier_, ed.
_Constable_, 207.]

1773.—"BHEESTEE, Waterman" (etc.)—_Fergusson, Dict. of the Hindostan
Language_, &c.

1781.—"I have the happiness to inform you of the fall of Bijah Gurh on
the 9th inst. with the loss of only 1 sepoy, 1 BEASTY, and a cossy (?
COSSID) killed...."—Letter in _India Gazette_ of Nov. 24th.

1782.—(Table of Wages in Calcutta),

Consummah............10 Rs.
Kistmutdar............6 "
BEASTY................5 "
_India Gazette_, Oct. 12.

Five Rupees continued to be the standard wage of a _bihishtī_ for full 80
years after the date given.

1810.—"... If he carries the water himself in the skin of a goat,
prepared for that purpose, he then receives the designation of
BHEESTY."—_Williamson, V.M._ i. 229.

1829.—"Dressing in a hurry, find the drunken BHEESTY ... has mistaken
your boot for the goglet in which you carry your water on the line of
march."—_Camp Miseries_, in _John Shipp_, ii. 149. N.B.—We never knew a
drunken _bheesty_.

1878.—"Here comes a seal carrying a porpoise on its back. No! it is only
our friend the BHEESTY."—_In my Indian Garden_, 79.

[1898.

"Of all them black-faced crew,
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental BHISTI, Ganga Din."
_R. Kipling, Barrack-room Ballads_, p. 23.]

BHIKTY, s. The usual Calcutta name for the fish _Lates calcarifer_. See COCKUP.

[BHOOSA, s. H. Mahr. _bhus_, _bhusa_; the husks and straw of various kinds of corn, beaten up into chaff by the feet of the oxen on the threshing-floor; used as the common food of cattle all over India.

[1829.—"Every commune is surrounded with a circumvallation of thorns ...
and the stacks of BHOOS, or 'chaff,' which are placed at intervals, give
it the appearance of a respectable fortification. These _bhoos_ stacks
are erected to provide provender for the cattle in scanty rainy
seasons."—_Tod, Annals_, Calcutta reprint, i. 737.]

[BHOOT, s. H. &c., _bhūt_, _bhūta_, Skt. _bhūta_, 'formed, existent,' the common term for the multitudinous ghosts and demons of various kinds by whom the Indian peasant is so constantly beset.]

[1623.—"All confessing that it was BUTO, _i.e._ the Devil."—_P. della
Valle_, Hak. Soc. ii. 341.]

[1826.—"The sepoys started up, and cried 'B,HOOH, _b,hooh, arry arry_.'
This cry of 'a ghost' reached the ears of the officer, who bid his men
fire into the tree, and that would bring him down, if there."—_Pandurang
Hari_, ed. 1873, i. 107.]

BHOUNSLA, n.p. Properly _Bhoslah_ or _Bhonslah_, the surname of Sivaji, the founder of the Mahratta empire. It was also the surname of Parsoji and Raghuji, the founders of the Mahratta dynasty of Berar, though not of the same family as Sivaji.

1673.—"Seva Gi, derived from an Ancient Line of Rajahs, of the Cast of
the BOUNCELOES, a Warlike and Active Offspring."—_Fryer_, 171.

c. 1730.—"At this time two _parganas_, named Púna and Súpa, became the
_jagír_ of Sáhú BHOSLAH. Sívají became the manager.... He was
distinguished in his tribe for courage and intelligence; and for craft
and trickery he was reckoned a sharp son of the devil."—_Khāfī Khān_, in
_Elliot_, vii. 257.

1780.—"It was at first a particular tribe governed by the family of
BHOSSELAH, which has since lost the sovereignty."—_Seir Mutaqherin_, iii.
214.

1782.—"... le BONZOLO, les Marates, et les Mogols."—_Sonnerat_, i. 60.

BHYACHARRA, s. H. _bhayāchārā_. This is a term applied to settlements made with the village as a community, the several claims and liabilities being regulated by established customs, or special traditional rights. Wilson interprets it as "fraternal establishments." [This hardly explains the tenure, at least as found in the N.W.P., and it would be difficult to do so without much detail. In its perhaps most common form each man's holding is the measure of his interest in the estate, irrespective of the share to which he may be entitled by ancestral right.]

BICHÁNA, s. Bedding of any kind. H. _bichhānā_.

1689.—"The Heat of the Day is spent in Rest and Sleeping ... sometimes
upon Cotts, and sometimes upon BECHANAHS, which are thick
Quilts."—_Ovington_, 313.

BIDREE, BIDRY, s. H. _Bidrī_; the name applied to a kind of ornamental metal-work, made in the Deccan, and deriving its name from the city of Bīdar (or Bedar), which was the chief place of manufacture. The work was, amongst natives, chiefly applied to hooka-bells, rose-water bottles and the like. The term has acquired vogue in England of late amongst amateurs of "art manufacture." The ground of the work is pewter alloyed with one-fourth copper: this is inlaid (or damascened) with patterns in silver; and then the pewter ground is blackened. A short description of the manufacture is given by Dr. G. Smith in the _Madras Lit. Soc. Journ._, N.S. i. 81-84; [by Sir G. Birdwood, _Indust. Arts_, 163 _seqq._; _Journ. Ind. Art_, i. 41 _seqq._] The ware was first descrbed by B. Heyne in 1813.

BILABUNDY, s. H. _bilabandī_. An account of the revenue settlement of a district, specifying the name of each _mahal_ (estate), the farmer of it, and the amount of the rent (_Wilson_). In the N.W.P. it usually means an arrangement for securing the payment of revenue (_Elliot_). C. P. Brown says, quoting Raikes (p. 109), that the word is _bila-bandī_, 'hole-stopping,' viz. stopping those vents through which the coin of the proprietor might ooze out. This, however, looks very like a 'striving after meaning,' and Wilson's suggestion that it is a corruption of _behrī-bandī_, from _behrī_, 'a share,' 'a quota,' is probably right.

[1858.—"This transfer of responsibility, from the landholder to his
tenants, is called '_Jumog Lagána_,' or transfer of _jumma_. The assembly
of the tenants, for the purpose of such adjustment, is called _zunjeer
bundee_, or linking together. The adjustment thus made is called the
BILABUNDEE."—_Sleeman, Journey through Oudh_, i. 208.]

BILAYUT, BILLAÏT, &c. n.p. Europe. The word is properly Ar. _Wilāyat_, 'a kingdom, a province,' variously used with specific denotation, as the Afghans term their own country often by this name; and in India again it has come to be employed for distant Europe. In Sicily _Il Regno_ is used for the interior of the island, as we use _Mofussil_ in India. _Wilāyat_ is the usual form in Bombay.

BILAYUTEE PAWNEE, BILÁTEE PANEE. The adject. _bilāyatī_ or _wilāyatī_ is applied specifically to a variety of exotic articles, _e.g._ _bilāyatī baingan_ (see BRINJAUL), to the tomato, and most especially _bilāyatī pānī_, 'European water,' the usual name for soda-water in Anglo-India.

1885.—"'But look at us English,' I urged, 'we are ordered thousands of
miles away from home, and we go without a murmur.' 'It is true,
_Khudawund_,' said Gunga Pursad, 'but you _sahebs_ drink ENGLISH-WATER
(soda-water), and the strength of it enables you to bear up under all
fatigues and sorrows.' His idea (adds Mr. Knighton) was that the
effervescing force of the soda-water, and the strength of it which drove
out the cork so violently, gave strength to the drinker of it."—_Times of
India Mail_, Aug. 11, 1885.

BILDÁR, s. H. from P. _beldār_, 'a spade-wielder,' an excavator or digging labourer. Term usual in the Public Works Department of Upper India for men employed in that way.

1847.—

"Ye Lyme is alle oute! Ye Masouns lounge aboute!
Ye BELDARS have alle strucke, and are smoaking atte their Eese!
Ye Brickes are alle done! Ye Kyne are Skynne and Bone,
And ye Threasurour has bolted with xii thousand Rupeese!"
_Ye Dreme of an Executive Engineere._

BILOOCH, BELOOCH. n.p. The name (_Balūch or Bilūch_) applied to the race inhabiting the regions west of the Lower Indus, and S.E. of Persia, called from them _Bilūchistān_; they were dominant in Sind till the English conquest in 1843. [Prof. Max Müller (_Lectures_, i. 97, note) identified the name with Skt. _mlechcha_, used in the sense of the Greek βάρβαρος for a despised foreigner.]

A.D. 643.—"In the year 32 H. 'Abdulla bin 'A'mar bin Rabi' invaded Kirmán
and took the capital Kuwáshír, so that the aid of 'the men of Kúj and
BALÚJ' was solicited in vain by the Kirmánis."—In _Elliot_, i. 417.

c. 1200.—"He gave with him from Kandahār and Lār, mighty BALOCHIS,
servants ... with nobles of many castes, horses, elephants, men,
carriages, charioteers, and chariots."—_The Poem of Chand Bardāi_, in
_Ind. Ant._ i. 272.

c. 1211.—"In the desert of Khabis there was a body ... of BULUCHÍS who
robbed on the highway.... These people came out and carried off all the
presents and rarities in his possession."—_'Utbi_, in _Elliot_, ii. 193.

1556.—"We proceeded to Gwādir, a trading town. The people here are called
BALŬJ; their prince was Malik Jalaluddīn, son of Malik Dīnār."—_Sidi
'Ali_, p. 73.

[c. 1590.—"This tract is inhabited by an important BALOCH tribe called
Kalmani."—_Āīn_, trans. _Jarret_, ii. 337.]

1613.—The BOLOCHES are of Mahomet's Religion. They deale much in Camels,
most of them robbers...."—_N. Whittington_, in _Purchas_, i. 485.

1648.—"Among the Machumatists next to the Pattans are the BLOTIAS of
great strength" [? _Wilāyatī_].—_Van Twist_, 58.

1727.—"They were lodged in a _Caravanseray_, when the BALLOWCHES came
with about 300 to attack them; but they had a brave warm Reception, and
left four Score of their Number dead on the Spot, without the loss of one
_Dutch_ Man."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 107.

1813.—_Milburn_ calls them BLOACHES (_Or. Com._ i. 145).

1844.—"Officers must not shoot Peacocks: if they do the BELOOCHES will
shoot officers—at least so they have threatened, and M.-G. Napier has not
the slightest doubt but that they will keep their word. There are no wild
peacocks in Scinde,—they are all private property and sacred birds, and
no man has any right whatever to shoot them."—_Gen. Orders_ by _Sir C.
Napier_.

BINKY-NABOB, s. This title occurs in documents regarding Hyder and Tippoo, _e.g._ in Gen. Stewart's desp. of 8th March 1799: "Mohammed Rezza, the Binky Nabob." [Also see _Wilks, Mysoor_, Madras reprint, ii. 346.] It is properly _benkī-nawāb_, from Canarese _benkī_, 'fire,' and means the Commandant of the Artillery.

BIRD OF PARADISE. The name given to various beautiful birds of the family _Paradiseidae_, of which many species are now known, inhabiting N. Guinea and the smaller islands adjoining it. The largest species was called by Linnæus _Paradisaea apoda_, in allusion to the fable that these birds had no feet (the dried skins brought for sale to the Moluccas having usually none attached to them). The name _Manucode_ which Buffon adopted for these birds occurs in the form _Manucodiata_ in some of the following quotations. It is a corruption of the Javanese name _Manuk-devata_, 'the Bird of the Gods,' which our popular term renders with sufficient accuracy. [The Siamese word for 'bird,' according to Mr. Skeat, is _nok_, perhaps from _manok_.]

c. 1430.—"In majori Java avis præcipua reperitur sine pedibus, instar
palumbi, pluma levi, cauda oblonga, semper in arboribus quiescens: caro
non editur, pellis et cauda habentur pretiosiores, quibus pro ornamento
capitis utuntur."—_N. Conti_, in _Poggius de Varietate Fortunae_, lib.
iv.

1552.—"The Kings of the said (Moluccas) began only a few years ago to
believe in the immortality of souls, taught by no other argument than
this, that they had seen a most beautiful little bird, which never
alighted on the ground or on any other terrestrial object, but which they
had sometimes seen to come from the sky, that is to say, when it was dead
and fell to the ground. And the Machometan traders who traffic in those
islands assured them that this little bird was a NATIVE OF PARADISE, and
that _Paradise_ was the place where the souls of the dead are; and on
this account the princes attached themselves to the sect of the
Machometans, because it promised them many marvellous things regarding
this place of souls. This little bird they called by the name of
_Manucodiata_...."—Letter of _Maximilian of Transylvania_, Sec. to the
Emp. Charles V., in _Ramusio_, i. f. 351_v_; see also f. 352.

c. 1524.—"He also (the K. of Bachian) gave us for the King of Spain two
most beautiful dead birds. These birds are as large as thrushes; they
have small heads, long beaks, legs slender like a writing pen, and a span
in length; they have no wings, but instead of them long feathers of
different colours, like plumes; their tail is like that of the thrush.
All the feathers, except those of the wings (?), are of a dark colour;
they never fly except when the wind blows. They told us that these BIRDS
_come from the terrestrial_ PARADISE, and they call them '_bolon
dinata_,' [_burung-dewata_, same as Javanese _Manuk-dewata_, _supra_]
that is, divine birds."—_Pigafetta_, Hak. Soc. 143.

1598.—"... in these Ilands (Moluccas) onlie is found the bird, which the
Portingales call _Passaros de Sol_, that is Foule of the Sunne, the
Italians call it _Manu codiatas_, and the Latinists _Paradiseas_, by us
called PARADICE BIRDES, for ye beauty of their feathers which passe al
other birds: these birds are never seene alive, but being dead they are
found vpon the Iland; they flie, as it is said, alwaies into the Sunne,
and keepe themselues continually in the ayre ... for they haue neither
feet nor wings, but onely head and bodie, and the most part
tayle...."—_Linschoten_, 35; [Hak. Soc. i. 118].

1572.—

"Olha cá pelos mares do Oriente
As infinitas ilhas espalhadas
* * * * * * *
Aqui as aureas aves, que não decem
Nunca á terra, e só mortas aparecem."
_Camões_, x. 132.

Englished by Burton:

"Here see o'er oriental seas bespread
infinite island-groups and alwhere strewed
* * * * * * *
here dwell the golden fowls, whose home is air,
and never earthward save in death may fare."

1645.—"... the male and female _Manucodiatae_, the male having a hollow
in the back, in which 'tis reported the female both layes and hatches her
eggs."—_Evelyn's Diary_, 4th Feb.

1674.—

"The strangest long-wing'd hawk that flies,
That like a BIRD OF PARADISE,
Or herald's martlet, has no legs...."
_Hudibras_, Pt. ii. cant. 3.

1591.—"As for the story of the _Manucodiata_ or BIRD OF PARADISE, which
in the former Age was generally received and accepted for true, even by
the Learned, it is now discovered to be a fable, and rejected and
exploded by all men" (_i.e._ that it has no feet).—_Ray, Wisdom of God
Manifested in the Works of the Creation_, ed. 1692, Pt. ii. 147.

1705.—"The BIRDS OF PARADICE are about the bigness of a Pidgeon. They are
of varying Colours, and are never found or seen alive; neither is it
known from whence they come...."—_Funnel_, in _Dampier's Voyages_, iii.
266-7.

1868.—"When seen in this attitude, the BIRD OF PARADISE really deserves
its name, and must be ranked as one of the most beautiful and wonderful
of living things."—_Wallace, Malay Archip._, 7th ed., 464.

BIRDS' NESTS. The famous edible nests, formed with mucus, by certain swiftlets, _Collocalia nidifica_, and _C. linchi_. Both have long been known on the eastern coasts of the B. of Bengal, in the Malay Islands [and, according to Mr. Skeat in the islands of the Inland Sea (_Tale Sap_) at Singora]. The former is also now known to visit Darjeeling, the Assam Hills, the Western Ghats, &c., and to breed on the islets off Malabar and the Concan.

BISCOBRA, s. H. _biskhoprā_ or _biskhaprā_. The name popularly applied to a large lizard alleged, and commonly believed, to be mortally venomous. It is very doubtful whether there is any real lizard to which this name applies, and it may be taken as certain that there is none in India with the qualities attributed. It is probable that the name does carry to many the terrific character which the ingenious author of _Tribes on My Frontier_ alleges. But the name has nothing to do with either _bis_ in the sense of 'twice,' or _cobra_ in that of 'snake.' The first element is no doubt BISH, (q.v.) 'poison,' and the second is probably _khoprā_, 'a shell or skull.' [See _J. L. Kipling, Beast and Man in India_ (p. 317), who gives the scientific name as _varanus dracaena_, and says that the name _biscobra_ is sometimes applied to the lizard generally known as the _ghoṛpad_, for which see GUANA.]

1883.—"But of all the things on earth that bite or sting, the palm
belongs to the BISCOBRA, a creature whose very name seems to indicate
that it is twice as bad as the cobra. Though known by the terror of its
name to natives and Europeans alike, it has never been described in the
Proceedings of any learned Society, nor has it yet received a scientific
name.... The awful deadliness of its bite admits of no question, being
supported by countless authentic instances.... The points on which
evidence is required are—first, whether there is any such animal; second,
whether, if it does exist, it is a snake with legs, or a lizard without
them."—_Tribes on my Frontier_, p. 205.

BISH, BIKH, &c., n. H. from Skt. _visha_, 'poison.' The word has several specific applications, as (A) to the poison of various species of aconite, particularly _Aconitum ferox_, otherwise more specifically called in Skt. _vatsanābha_, 'calf's navel,' corrupted into _bachnābh_ or _bachnāg_, &c. But it is also applied (B) in the Himālaya to the effect of the rarefied atmosphere at great heights on the body, an effect which there and over Central Asia is attributed to poisonous emanations from the soil, or from plants; a doctrine somewhat naïvely accepted by Huc in his famous narrative. The Central Asiatic (Turki) expression for this is _Esh_, 'smell.'

A.—

1554.—"Entre les singularités que le consul de Florentins me monstra, me
feist gouster vne racine que les Arabes nomment _Bisch_: laquelle me
causa si grande chaleur en la bouche, qui me dura deux iours, qu'il me
sembloit y auoir du feu.... Elle est bien petite comme vn petit naueau:
les autres (_auteurs?_) l'ont nommée _Napellus_...."—_Pierre Belon,
Observations, &c._, f. 97.

B.—

1624.—Antonio Andrada in his journey across the Himālaya, speaking of the
sufferings of travellers from the POISONOUS EMANATIONS.—See _Ritter,
Asien._, iii. 444.

1661-2.—"Est autem Langur mons omnium altissimus, ita ut in summitate
ejus viatores vix respirare ob aëris subtilitatim queant: neque is ob
VIRULENTAS nonnullarum HERBARUM EXHALATIONES aestivo tempore, sine
manifesto vitae periculo transire possit."—_PP. Dorville and Grueber_, in
_Kircher, China Illustrata_, 65. It is curious to see these intelligent
Jesuits recognise the true cause, but accept the fancy of their guides as
an additional one!

(?) "La partie supérieure de cette montagne est remplie D'EXHALAISONS
PESTILENTIELLES."—_Chinese Itinerary to Hlassa_, in _Klaproth, Magasin
Asiatique_, ii. 112.

1812.—"Here begins the ESH—this is a Turkish word signifying Smell ... it
implies something the odour of which induces indisposition; far from
hence the breathing of horse and man, and especially of the former,
becomes affected."—_Mir Izzet Ullah_, in _J. R. As. Soc._ i. 283.

1815.—"Many of the coolies, and several of the Mewattee and Ghoorkha
sepoys and chuprasees now lagged, and every one complained of the BĪS or
poisoned wind. I now suspected that the supposed poison was nothing more
than the effect of the rarefaction of the atmosphere from our great
elevation."—_Fraser, Journal of a Tour, &c._, 1820, p. 442.

1819.—"The difficulty of breathing which at an earlier date Andrada, and
more recently Moorcroft had experienced in this region, was confirmed by
Webb; the Butias themselves felt it, and call it BIS KI HUWA, _i.e._
poisonous air; even horses and yaks ... suffer from it."—_Webb's
Narrative_, quoted in _Ritter, Asien._, ii. 532, 649.

1845.—"Nous arrivâmes à neuf heures au pied du Bourhan-Bota. La caravane
s'arrêta un instant ... on se montrait avec anxiété un gaz subtil et
léger, qu'on nommait VAPEUR PESTILENTIELLE, et tout le monde paraissait
abattu et découragé.... Bientot les chevaux se refusent à porter leurs
cavaliers, et chacun avance à pied et à petits pas ... tous les visages
blémissent, on sent le cœur s'affadir, et les jambes ne pouvent plus
fonctionner.... Une partie de la troupe, par mesure de prudence s'arrêta
... le reste par prudence aussi épuisa tous les efforts pour arriver
jusqu'au bout, et ne pas mourir asphyxié au milieu de cet air chargé
d'acide carbonique," &c.,—_Huc et Gabet_, ii. 211: [E. T., ii. 114].

[BISMILLAH, intj., lit. "In the name of God"; a pious ejaculation used by Mahommedans at the commencement of any undertaking. The ordinary form runs—_Bi-'smi 'llāhi 'r-raḥmāni 'r-raḥīm_, _i.e._ "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful," is of Jewish origin, and is used at the commencement of meals, putting on new clothes, beginning any new work, &c. In the second form, used at the time of going into battle or slaughtering animals, the allusion to the attribute of mercy is omitted.

[1535.—"As they were killed after the Portuguese manner without the
BYSMELA, which they did not say over them."—_Correa_, iii. 746.]

BISNAGAR, BISNAGA, BEEJANUGGER, n.p. These and other forms stand for the name of the ancient city which was the capital of the most important Hindu kingdom that existed in the peninsula of India, during the later Middle Ages, ruled by the _Rāya_ dynasty. The place is now known as _Humpy_ (_Hampī_), and is entirely in ruins. [The modern name is corrupted from _Pampa_, that of the river near which it stood. (_Rice, Mysore_, ii. 487.)] It stands on the S. of the Tungabhadra R., 36 m. to the N.W. of Bellary. The name is a corruption of _Vijayanagara_ (City of Victory), or _Vidyanagara_ (City of learning), [the latter and earlier name being changed into the former (_Rice, Ibid._ i. 342, note).] Others believe that the latter name was applied only since the place, in the 13th century, became the seat of a great revival of Hinduism, under the famous Sayana Mādhava, who wrote commentaries on the Vedas, and much besides. Both the city and the kingdom were commonly called by the early Portuguese NARSINGA (q.v.), from _Narasimha_ (c. 1490-1508), who was king at the time of their first arrival. [Rice gives his dates as 1488-1508.]

c. 1420.—"Profectus hinc est procul a mari milliaribus trecentis, ad
civitatem ingentem, nomine BIZENEGALIAM, ambitu milliarum sexaginta,
circa praeruptos montes sitam."—_Conti_, in _Poggius de Var. Fortunae_,
iv.

1442.—"... the chances of a maritime voyage had led Abd-er-razzak, the
author of this work, to the city of BIDJANAGAR. He saw a place extremely
large and thickly peopled, and a King possessing greatness and
sovereignty to the highest degree, whose dominion extends from the
frontier of Serendib to the extremity of the county of Kalbergah—from the
frontiers of Bengal to the environs of Malabar."—_Abdurrazzāk_, in _India
in XV. Cent._, 22.

c. 1470.—"The Hindu sultan Kadam is a very powerful prince. He possesses
a numerous army, and resides on a mountain at BICHENEGHER."—_Athan.
Nikitin_, in _India in XV. Cent._, 29.

1516.—"45 leagues from these mountains inland, there is a very great
city, which is called BIJANAGHER...."—_Barbosa_, 85.

1611.—"Le Roy de BISNAGAR, qu'on appelle aussi quelquefois le Roy de
Narzinga, est puissant."—_Wytfliet, H. des Indes_, ii. 64.

BISON, s. The popular name, among Southern Anglo-Indian sportsmen, of the great wild-ox called in Bengal _gaur_ and _gaviāl_ (_Gavaeus gaurus_, Jerdon); [_Bos gaurus_, Blanford]. It inhabits sparsely all the large forests of India, from near Cape Comorin to the foot of the Himālayas (at least in their Eastern portion), and from Malabar to Tenasserim.

1881.—"Once an unfortunate native superintendent or _mistari_ [MAISTRY]
was pounded to death by a savage and solitary BISON."—_Saty. Review_,
Sept. 10, p. 335.

BLACAN-MATEE, n.p. This is the name of an island adjoining Singapore, which forms the beautiful 'New Harbour' of that port; Malay _bĕlākang_, or _blakang-māti_, lit. 'Dead-Back island,' [of which, writes Mr. Skeat, no satisfactory explanation has been given. According to Dennys (_Discr. Dict._, 51), "one explanation is that the Southern, or as regards Singapore, hinder, face was so unhealthy that the Malays gave it a designation signifying by _onomatopoea_ that death was to be found behind its ridge"]. The island (_Blacan-mati_) appears in one of the charts of Godinho de Eredia (1613) published in his _Malaca_, &c. (Brussels, 1882), and though, from the excessive looseness of such old charts, the island seems too far from Singapore, we are satisfied after careful comparison with the modern charts that the island now so-called is intended.

BLACK, s. Adj. and substantive denoting natives of India. Old-fashioned, and heard, if still heard, only from the lower class of Europeans; even in the last generation its habitual use was chiefly confined to these, and to old officers of the Queen's Army.

[1614.—"The 5th ditto came in a ship from Mollacco with 28 Portugals and
36 BLACKS."—_Foster, Letters_, ii. 31.]

1676.—"We do not approve of your sending any persons to St. Helena
against their wills. One of them you sent there makes a great complaint,
and we have ordered his liberty to return again if he desires it; for we
know not what effect it may have if complaints should be made to the King
that we send away the natives; besides that it is against our inclination
to buy any BLACKS, and to transport them from their wives and children
without their own consent."—_Court's Letter to Ft. St. Geo._, in _Notes
and Exts._ No. i. p. 12.

1747.—"Vencatachlam, the Commanding Officer of the BLACK Military, having
behaved very commendably on several occasions against the French; In
consideration thereof _Agreed_ that a Present be made him of Six hundred
Rupees to buy a Horse, that it may encourage him to act in like
manner."—_Ft. St. David Cons._, Feb. 6. (MS. Record, in India Office).

1750.—"Having received information that some BLACKS residing in this town
were dealing with the French for goods proper for the Europe market, we
told them if we found any proof against any residing under your Honors'
protection, that such should suffer our utmost displeasure."—_Ft. Wm.
Cons._, Feb. 4, in _Long_, 24.

1753.—"John Wood, a free merchant, applies for a pass which, if refused
him, he says 'it will reduce a free merchant to the condition of a
foreigner, or indeed of the meanest BLACK fellow.'"—_Ft. Wm. Cons._, in
_Long_, p. 41.

1761.—"You will also receive several private letters from Hastings and
Sykes, which must convince me as Circumstances did me at the time, that
the Dutch forces were not sent with a View only of defending their own
Settlements, but absolutely with a Design of disputing our Influence and
Possessions; certain Ruin must have been the Consequence to the East
India Company. They were raising BLACK Forces at Patna, Cossimbazar,
Chinsura, &c., and were working Night and day to compleat a Field
Artillery ... all these preparations previous to the commencement of
Hostilities plainly prove the Dutch meant to act offensively not
defensively."—_Holograph Letter from Clive_ (unpublished) _in the_ India
Office Records. _Dated_ Berkeley Square, and _indorsed_ "27th Decr.
1761."

1762.—"The BLACK inhabitants send in a petition setting forth the great
hardship they labour under in being required to sit as arbitrators in the
Court of Cutcherry."—_Ft. Wm. Cons._, in _Long_, 277.

1782.—See quotation under SEPOY, from _Price_.

" "... the 35th Regiment, commanded by Major Popham, which had
lately behaved in a mutinous manner ... was broke with infamy.... The
BLACK officers with halters about their necks, and the sepoys stript of
their coats and turbands were drummed out of the Cantonments."—_India
Gazette_, March 30.

1787.—"As to yesterday's particular charge, the thing that has made me
most inveterate and unrelenting in it is only that it related to cruelty
or oppression inflicted on two BLACK ladies...."—_Lord Minto_, in _Life,
&c._, i. 128.

1789.—"I have just learned from a Friend at the India House, y^t the
object of Treves' ambition at present is to be appointed to the _Adaulet_
of Benares, w^h is now held by a BLACK named Alii Caun. Understanding
that most of the _Adaulets_ are now held by Europeans, and as I am
informed y^t it is the intention y^t the Europeans are to be so placed in
future, I s^{hd} be vastly happy if without committing any injustice you
c^d place young Treves in y^t situation."—_George P. of Wales_, to Lord
Cornwallis, in _C.'s Corresp._ ii. 29.

1832-3.—"And be it further enacted that ... in all captures which shall
be made by H. M.'s Army, Royal Artillery, provincial, BLACK, or other
troops...."—_Act_ 2 & 3 Will. IV., ch. 53, sec. 2.

The phrase is in use among natives, we know not whether originating with them, or adopted from the usage of the foreigner. But _Kālā ādmī_ 'BLACK MAN,' is often used by them in speaking to Europeans of other natives. A case in point is perhaps worth recording. A statue of Lord William Bentinck, on foot, and in bronze, stands in front of the Calcutta Town Hall. Many years ago a native officer, returning from duty at Calcutta to Barrackpore, where his regiment was, reported himself to his adjutant (from whom we had the story in later days). 'Anything new, Sūbadār, Sāhib?' said the Adjutant. 'Yes,' said the Sūbadār, 'there is a figure of the former Lord Sahib arrived.' 'And what do you think of it?' '_Sāhib_,' said the Sūbadār, '_abhi hai_ kālā ādmī _kā sā, jab potā ho jaegā jab achchhā hogā_!' ('It is now just like a native—'a BLACK MAN'; when the whitewash is applied it will be excellent.')

In some few phrases the term has become crystallised and semi-official. Thus the native dressers in a hospital were, and possibly still are, called BLACK DOCTORS.

1787.—"The Surgeon's assistant and BLACK DOCTOR take their station 100
paces in the rear, or in any place of security to which the Doolies may
readily carry the wounded."—_Regulations for the H. C.'s Troops on the
Coast of Coromandel_.

In the following the meaning is special:

1788.—"_For Sale._ That small upper-roomed Garden House, with about 5
biggahs (see BEEGAH) of ground, on the road leading from Cheringhee to
the Burying Ground, which formerly belonged to the Moravians; it is very
private, from the number of trees on the ground, and having lately
received considerable additions and repairs, is well adapted for a BLACK
_Family_. [hand] Apply to Mr. Camac."—_In Seton-Karr_, i. 282.

BLACK ACT. This was the name given in odium by the non-official Europeans in India to Act XI., 1836, of the Indian Legislature, which laid down that no person should by reason of his place of birth or of his descent be, in any civil proceeding, excepted from the jurisdiction of the Courts named, viz.: Sudder Dewanny Adawlut, Zillah and City Judge's Courts, Principal Sudder Ameens, Sudder Ameens, and Moonsiff's Court, or, in other words, it placed European subjects on a level with natives as to their subjection in civil causes to all the Company's Courts, including those under Native Judges. This Act was drafted by T. B. Macaulay, then Legislative Member of the Governor-General's Council, and brought great abuse on his head. Recent agitation caused by the "Ilbert Bill," proposing to make Europeans subject to native magistrates in regard to police and criminal charges, has been, by advocates of the latter measure, put on all fours with the agitation of 1836. But there is much that discriminates the two cases.

1876.—"The motive of the scurrility with which Macaulay was assailed by a
handful of sorry scribblers was his advocacy of the Act, familiarly known
as the BLACK ACT, which withdrew from British subjects resident in the
provinces their so called privilege of bringing civil appeals before the
Supreme Court at Calcutta."—_Trevelyan's Life of Macaulay_, 2nd ed., i.
398.

[BLACK BEER, s. A beverage mentioned by early travellers in Japan. It was probably not a malt liquor. Dr. Aston suggests that it was _kuro-hi_, a dark-coloured _saké_ used in the service of the Shinto gods.

[1616.—"One jar of BLACK BEER."—_Foster, Letters_, iv. 270.]

BLACK-BUCK, s. The ordinary name of the male antelope (_Antilope bezoartica_, Jerdon) [_A. cervicapra_, Blanford], from the dark hue of its back, by no means however literally black.

1690.—"The _Indians_ remark, _'tis_ September's _Sun which caused the
black lines on the Antelopes' Backs_."—_Ovington_, 139.

BLACK COTTON SOIL.—(See REGUR.)

[BLACK JEWS, a term applied to the Jews of S. India; see 2 ser. _N. & Q._, iv. 4. 429; viii. 232, 418, 521; _Logan, Malabar_, i. 246 _seqq._]

BLACK LANGUAGE. An old-fashioned expression, for Hindustani and other vernaculars, which used to be common among officers and men of the Royal Army, but was almost confined to them.

BLACK PARTRIDGE, s. The popular Indian name of the common francolin of S.E. Europe and Western Asia (_Francolinus vulgaris_, Stephens), notable for its harsh quasi-articulate call, interpreted in various parts of the world into very different syllables. The rhythm of the call is fairly represented by two of the imitations which come nearest one another, viz. that given by Sultan Baber (Persian): '_Shīr dāram, shakrak_' ('I've got milk and sugar'!) and (Hind.) one given by Jerdon: '_Lahsan piyāz adrak_' ('Garlic, onion, and ginger'!) A more pious one is: _Khudā terī ḳudrat_, 'God is thy strength!' Another mentioned by Capt. Baldwin is very like the truth: 'Be quick, pay your debts!' But perhaps the Greek interpretation recorded by Athenaeus (ix. 39) is best of all: τρὶς τοῖς κακούργοις κακά 'Three-fold ills to the ill-doers!' see _Marco Polo_, Bk. i. ch. xviii. and note 1; [_Burton, Ar. Nights_, iii. 234, iv. 17].

BLACK TOWN, n.p. Still the popular name of the native city of Madras, as distinguished from the Fort and southern suburbs occupied by the English residents, and the bazars which supply their wants. The term is also used at Bombay.

1673.—Fryer calls the native town of Madras "the Heathen Town," and "the
Indian Town."

1727.—"The BLACK TOWN (of Madras) is inhabited by _Gentows_,
_Mahometans_, and _Indian Christians_.... It was walled in towards the
Land, when Governor _Pit_ ruled it."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 367.

1780.—"Adjoining the glacis of Fort St. George, to the northward, is a
large town commonly called the BLACK TOWN, and which is fortified
sufficiently to prevent any surprise by a body of horse."—_Hodges_, p. 6.

1780.—"... Cadets upon their arrival in the country, many of whom ... are
obliged to take up their residence in dirty punch-houses in the BLACK
TOWN...."—_Munro's Narrative_, 22.

1782.—"When Mr. Hastings came to the government he added some new
regulations ... divided the BLACK and white TOWN (Calcutta) into 35
wards, and purchased the consent of the natives to go a little further
off."—_Price, Some Observations, &c._, p. 60. In _Tracts_, vol. i.

[1813.—"The large bazar, or the street in the BLACK TOWN, (Bombay) ...
contained many good Asiatic houses."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._, 2nd ed., i. 96.
Also see quotation (1809) under BOMBAY.]

1827.—"Hartley hastened from the BLACK TOWN, more satisfied than before
that some deceit was about to be practised towards Menie Gray."—_Walter
Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter_, ch. xi.

BLACK WOOD. The popular name for what is in England termed 'rose-wood'; produced chiefly by several species of _Dalbergia_, and from which the celebrated carved furniture of Bombay is made. [The same name is applied to the Chinese ebony used in carving (_Ball, Things Chinese_, 3rd ed., 107).] (See SISSOO.)

[1615.—"Her lading is BLACK WOOD, I think ebony."—_Cocks's Diary_, Hak.
Soc. i. 35.

[1813.—"BLACK WOOD furniture becomes like heated metal."—_Forbes, Or.
Mem._, 2nd ed., i. 106.]

1879.—(In Babylonia). "In a mound to the south of the mass of city ruins
called Jumjuma, Mr. Rassam discovered the remains of a rich hall or
palace ... the cornices were of painted brick, and the roof of rich
Indian BLACKWOOD."—_Athenaeum_, July 5, 22.

BLANKS, s. The word is used for 'whites' or 'Europeans' (Port. _branco_) in the following, but we know not if anywhere else in English:

1718.—"The Heathens ... too shy to venture into the Churches of the
BLANKS (so they call the Christians), since these were generally adorned
with fine cloaths and all manner of proud apparel."—(_Ziegenbalg and
Plutscho_), _Propagation of the Gospel, &c._ Pt. I., 3rd ed., p. 70.

[BLATTY, adj. A corr. of _wilāyatī_, 'foreign' (see BILAYUT). A name applied to two plants in S. India, the _Sonneratia acida_, and _Hydrolea zeylanica_ (see _Mad. Admin. Man. Gloss._ s.v.). In the old records it is applied to a kind of cloth. Owen (_Narrative_, i. 349) uses BLAT as a name for the land-wind in Arabia, of which the origin is perhaps the same.

[1610.—"BLATTY, the corge Rs. 060."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 72.]

BLIMBEE, s. Malayāl. _vilimbi_; H. _belambū_ [or _bilambū_;] Malay. _bălimbing_ or _belimbing_. The fruit of _Averrhoa bilimbi_, L. The genus was so called by Linnæus in honour of Averrhoes, the Arab commentator on Aristotle and Avicenna. It embraces two species cultivated in India for their fruits; neither known in a wild state. See for the other CARAMBOLA.

BLOOD-SUCKER, s. A harmless lizard (_Lacerta cristata_) is so called, because when excited it changes in colour (especially about the neck) from a dirty yellow or grey, to a dark red.

1810.—"On the morn, however, I discovered it to be a large lizard, termed
a BLOOD-SUCKER."—_Morton's Life of Leyden_, 110.

[1813.—"The large seroor, or lacerta, commonly called the
BLOODSUCKER."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ i. 110 (2nd ed.).]

BOBACHEE, s. A cook (male). This is an Anglo-Indian vulgarisation of _bāwarchī_, a term originally brought, according to Hammer, by the hordes of Chingiz Khan into Western Asia. At the Mongol Court the _Bāwarchī_ was a high dignitary, 'Lord Sewer' or the like (see _Hammer's Golden Horde_, 235, 461). The late Prof. A. Schiefner, however, stated to us that he could not trace a Mongol origin for the word, which appears to be Or. Turki. [Platts derives it from P. _bāwar_, 'confidence.']

c. 1333.—"Chaque émir a un BÂWERDJY, et lorsque la table a éte dressée,
cet officier s'assied devant son maître ... le _bâwerdjy_ coupe la viande
en petits morceaux. Ces gens-là possèdent une grande habileté pour
dépecer la viande."—_Ibn Batuta_, ii. 407.

c. 1590.—BĀWARCHĪ is the word used for cook in the original of the _Āīn_
(_Blochmann's_ Eng. Tr. i. 58).

1810.—"... the dripping ... is returned to the meat by a bunch of
feathers ... tied to the end of a short stick. This little neat,
_cleanly_, and cheap dripping-ladle, answers admirably; it being in the
power of the BABACHY to baste any part with great
precision."—_Williamson, V. M._ i. 238.

1866.—

"And every night and morning
The BOBACHEE shall kill
The sempiternal _moorghee_,
And we'll all have a grill."
_The Dawk Bungalow_, 223.

BOBACHEE CONNAH, s. H. _Bāwarchī-khāna_, 'Cook-house,' _i.e._ Kitchen; generally in a cottage detached from the residence of a European household.

[1829.—"In defiance of all BAWURCHEE-KHANA rules and regulations."—_Or.
Sport Mag._, i. 118.]

BOBBERY, s. For the origin see BOBBERY-BOB. A noise, a disturbance, a row.

[1710.—"And beat with their hand on the mouth, making a certain noise,
which we Portuguese call BABARE. BABARE is a word composed of _baba_, 'a
child' and _are_, an adverb implying 'to call.'"—_Oriente Conquistado_,
vol ii.; _Conquista_, i. div. i. sec. 8.]

1830.—"When the band struck up (my Arab) was much frightened, made
BOBBERY, set his foot in a hole and nearly pitched me."—_Mem. of Col.
Mountain_, 2nd ed., 106.

1866.—"But what is the meaning of all this BOBBERY?"—_The Dawk Bungalow_,
p. 387.

_Bobbery_ is used in 'pigeon English,' and of course a Chinese origin is found for it, viz. _pa-pi_, Cantonese, 'a noise.' [The idea that there is a similar English word (see 7 ser. _N. & Q._, v. 205, 271, 338, 415, 513) is rejected by the _N.E.D._]

BOBBERY-BOB! interj. The Anglo-Indian colloquial representation of a common exclamation of Hindus when in surprise or grief—'BĀP-RĒ! or BAP-RĒ BĀP,' 'O Father!' (we have known a friend from north of Tweed whose ordinary interjection was 'My great-grandmother!'). Blumenroth's _Philippine Vocabulary_ gives _Nacú!_ = _Madre mia_, as a vulgar exclamation of admiration.

1782.—"Captain Cowe being again examined ... if he had any opportunity to
make any observations concerning the execution of Nundcomar? said, he
had; that he saw the whole except the immediate act of execution ...
there were 8 or 10,000 people assembled; who at the moment the Rajah was
turned off, dispersed suddenly, crying 'AH-BAUPAREE!' leaving nobody
about the gallows but the Sheriff and his attendants, and a few European
spectators. He explains the term AH-BAUP-AREE, to be an exclamation of
the BLACK people, upon the appearance of anything very alarming, and when
they are in great pain."—_Price's 2nd Letter to E. Burke_, p. 5. In
_Tracts_, vol. ii.

" "If an Hindoo was to see a house on fire, to receive a smart slap
on the face, break a china basin, cut his finger, see two Europeans
boxing, or a sparrow shot, he would call out AH-BAUP-AREE!"—From _Report
of Select Committee of H. of C., Ibid._ pp. 9-10.

1834.—"They both hastened to the spot, where the man lay senseless, and
the syce by his side muttering BĀPRE BĀPRE."—_The Baboo_, i. 48.

1863-64.—"My men soon became aware of the unwelcome visitor, and raised
the cry, 'A bear, a bear!'

"'AHI! BAP-RE-BAP! Oh, my father! go and drive him away,' said a timorous
voice from under a blanket close by."—_Lt.-Col. Lewin, A Fly on the
Wheel_, 142.

BOBBERY-PACK, s. A pack of hounds of different breeds, or (oftener) of no breed at all, wherewith young officers hunt jackals or the like; presumably so called from the noise and disturbance that such a pack are apt to raise. And hence a 'scratch pack' of any kind, as a 'scratch match' at cricket, &c. (See a quotation under BUNOW.)

1878.—"... on the mornings when the 'BOBBERA' PACK went out, of which
Macpherson was 'master,' and I 'whip,' we used to be up by 4 A.M."—_Life
in the Mofussil_, i. 142.

The following occurs in a letter received from an old Indian by one of the authors, some years ago:

"What a Cabinet —— has put together!—a regular BOBBERY-PACK."

BOCCA TIGRIS, n.p. The name applied to the estuary of the Canton River. It appears to be an inaccurate reproduction of the Portuguese _Boca do Tigre_, and that to be a rendering of the Chinese name _Hu-mēn_, "Tiger Gate." Hence in the second quotation _Tigris_ is supposed to be the name of the river.

1747.—"At 8 o'clock we passed the BOG OF TYGERS, and at noon the Lyon's
Tower."—_A Voy. to the E. Indies in 1747 and 1748._

1770.—"The City of Canton is situated on the banks of the TIGRIS, a large
river...."—_Raynal_ (tr. 1771), ii. 258.

1782.—"... à sept lieues de la BOUCHE DU TIGRE, on apperçoit la Tour du
Lion."—_Sonnerat, Voyage_, ii. 234.

[1900.—"The launch was taken up the Canton River and abandoned near the
BOCCA TIGRIS (the Bogue)."—_The Times_, 29 Oct.]

BOCHA, s. H. _bochā_. A kind of chair-palankin formerly in use in Bengal, but now quite forgotten.

1810.—"Ladies are usually conveyed about Calcutta ... in a kind of
palanquin called a BOCHAH ... being a compound of our sedan chair with
the body of a chariot.... I should have observed that most of the
gentlemen residing at Calcutta ride in BOCHAHS."—_Williamson, V. M._ i.
322.

BOGUE, n.p. This name is applied by seamen to the narrows at the mouth of the Canton River, and is a corruption of _Boca_. (See BOCCA TIGRIS.)