Chapter LX: Preface: TO SECOND EDITION xi (57)

NILGHERRY, NEILGHERRY, &c., n.p. The name of the Mountain Peninsula at the end of the Mysore table land (originally known as _Malaināḍu_, 'Hill country'), which is the chief site of hill sanataria in the Madras Presidency. Skt. _Nīlagiri_, 'Blue Mountain.' The name _Nīla_ or _Nīlādri_ (synonymous with _Nīlagiri_) belongs to one of the mythical or semi-mythical ranges of the Puranic Cosmography (see _Vishnu Purāna_, in _Wilson's Works_, by _Hall_, ii. 102, 111, &c.), and has been applied to several ranges of more assured locality, _e.g._ in Orissa as well as in S. India. The name seems to have been fancifully applied to the Ootacamund range about 1820, by some European. [The name was undoubtedly applied by natives to the range before the appearance of Europeans, as in the _Kongu-deśa Rajákal_, quoted by Grigg (_Nilagiri Man._ 363), and the name appears in a letter of Col. Mackenzie of about 1816 (_Ibid._ 278). Mr. T. M. Horsfall writes: "The name is in common use among all classes of natives in S. India, but when it may have become specific I cannot say. Possibly the solution may be that the Nilgiris being the first large mountain range to become familiar to the English, that name was by them caught hold of, but not _coined_, and stuck to them by mere priority. It is on the face of it improbable that the Englishmen who early in the last century discovered these Hills, that is, explored and shot over them, would call them by a long Skt. name."]

Probably the following quotation from Dampier refers to Orissa, as does that from Hedges:

"One of the English ships was called the _Nellegree_, the name taken from
the NELLEGREE Hills in Bengal, as I have heard."—_Dampier_, ii. 145.

1683.—"In y^e morning early I went up the NILLIGREE Hill, where I had a
view of a most pleasant fruitfull valley."—_Hedges, Diary_, March 2;
[Hak. Soc. i. 67].

The following also refers to the Orissa Hills:

1752.—"Weavers of Balasore complain of the great scarcity of rice and
provisions of all kinds occasioned by the devastations of the Mahrattas,
who, 600 in number, after plundering Balasore, had gone to the NELLIGREE
Hills."—In _Long_, 42.

NIPA, s. Malay _nīpah_.

A. The name of a stemless palm (_Nipa fruticans_, Thunb.), which abounds in estuaries from the Ganges delta eastwards, through Tenasserim and the Malay countries, to N. Australia, and the leaves of which afford the chief material used for thatch in the Archipelago. "In the Philippines," says Crawfurd, "but not that I am aware of anywhere else, the sap of the _Nipa_ ... is used as a beverage, and for the manufacture of vinegar, and the distillation of spirits. On this account it yields a considerable part of the revenue of the Spanish Government" (_Desc. Dict._ p. 301). But this fact is almost enough to show that the word is the same which is used in sense B; and the identity is placed beyond question by the quotations from Teixeira and Mason.

B. Arrack made from the sap of a palm tree, a manufacture by no means confined to the Philippines. The Portuguese, appropriating the word _Nipa_ to this spirit, called the tree itself _nipeira_.

A.—

1611.—"Other wine is of another kind of palm which is called NIPA
(growing in watery places), and this is also extracted by distillation.
It is very mild and sweet, and clear as pure water; and they say it is
very wholesome. It is made in great quantities, with which ships are
laden in Pegu and Tanasarim, Malaca, and the Philippines or Manila; but
that of Tanasarim exceeds all in goodness."—_Teixeira, Relaciones_, i.
17.

1613.—"And then on from the marsh to the NYPEIRAS or wild-palms of the
rivulet of Paret China."—_Godinho de Eredia_, 6.

" "And the wild palms called NYPEIRAS ... from those flowers is
drawn the liquor which is distilled into wine by an alembic, which is the
best wine of India."—_Ibid._ 16_v_.

[1817.—"In the maritime districts, _atap_, or thatch, is made almost
exclusively from the leaves of the NÍPA or _búyu_."—_Raffles, H. of
Java_, 2nd ed. i. 185.]

1848.—"Steaming amongst the low swampy islands of the Sunderbunds ... the
paddles of the steamer tossed up the large fruits of the NIPA
_fruticans_, a low stemless palm that grows in the tidal waters of the
Indian ocean, and bears a large head of nuts. It is a plant of no
interest to the common observer, but of much to the geologist, from the
nuts of a similar plant abounding in the tertiary formations at the mouth
of the Thames, having floated about there in as great profusion as here,
till buried deep in the silt and mud that now form the island of
Sheppey."—_Hooker, Himalayan Journals_, i. 1-2.

1860.—"The NIPA is very extensively cultivated in the Province of Tavoy.
From incisions in the stem of the fruit, toddy is extracted, which has
very much the flavour of mead, and this extract, when boiled down,
becomes sugar."—_Mason's Burmah_, p. 506.

1874.—"It (sugar) is also got from NIPA _fruticans_, Thunb., a tree of
the low coast-regions, extensively cultivated in Tavoy."—_Hanbury and
Flückiger_, 655.

These last quotations confirm the old travellers who represent Tenasserim
as the great source of the NIPA spirit.

B.—

c. 1567.—"Euery yeere is there lade (at Tenasserim) some ships with
Verzino, NIPA, and Benjamin."—_Ces. Federici_ (E.T. in _Hakl._), ii. 359.

1568.—"NIPA, qual'è vn Vino eccellentissimo che nasce nel fior d'vn
arbore chiamato NIPER, il cui liquor si distilla, e se ne fa vna beuanda
eccellentissima."—_Ces. Federici_, in _Ramusio_, iii. 392v.

1583.—"I Portoghesi e noi altri di queste bande di quà non mangiamo nel
Regno di Pegù pane di grano ... ne si beve vino; ma una certa acqua
lambiccata da vn albero detto ANNIPPA, ch'è alla bocca assai gustevole;
ma al corpo giova e nuoce, secondo le complessioni de gli huomini."—_G.
Balbi_, f. 127.

1591.—"Those of Tanaseri are chiefly freighted with Rice and NIPAR wine,
which is very strong."—_Barker's Account of Lancaster's Voyage_, in
_Hakl._ ii. 592.

In the next two quotations _nipe_ is confounded with coco-nut spirit.

1598.—"Likewise there is much wine brought thether, which is made of
Cocus or Indian Nuttes, and is called NYPE _de Tanassaria_, that is
_Aqua-Composita of Tanassaria_."—_Linschoten_, 30; [Hak. Soc. i. 103].

" "The Sura, being distilled, is called _Fula_ (see FOOL'S RACK) or
NIPE, and is an excellent _Aqua Vitae_ as any is made in Dort."—_Ibid._
101; [Hak. Soc. ii. 49].

[1616.—"One jar of NEEPE."—_Foster, Letters_, iv. 162].

1623.—"In the daytime they did nothing but talk a little with one
another, and some of them get drunk upon a certain wine they have of
raisins, or on a kind of aqua vitæ with other things mixt in it, in India
called NIPPA, which had been given them."—_P. della Valle_, ii. 669;
[Hak. Soc. ii. 272].

We think there can be little doubt that the slang word NIP, for a small dram of spirits, is adopted from NIPA. [But compare Dutch _nippen_, 'to take a dram.' The old word _nippitatum_ was used for 'strong drink'; see _Stanf. Dict._]

NIRVÁNA, s. Skt. _nirvāṇa_. The literal meaning of this word is simply 'blown out,' like a candle. It is the technical term in the philosophy of the Buddhists for the condition to which they aspire as the crown and goal of virtue, viz. the cessation of sentient existence. On the exact meaning of the term see Childer's _Pali Dictionary_, s.v. _nibbāna_, an article from which we quote a few sentences below, but which covers ten double-column pages. The word has become common in Europe along with the growing interest in Buddhism, and partly from its use by Schopenhauer. But it is often employed very inaccurately, of which an instance occurs in the quotation below from Dr. Draper. The oldest European occurrence of which we are aware is in _Purchas_, who had met with it in the Pali form common in Burma, &c., _nibban_.

1626.—"After death they (the Talapoys) beleeve three Places, one of
Pleasure _Scuum_ (perhaps _sukham_) like the Mahumitane Paradise; another
of Torment _Naxac_ (read _Narac_); the third of Annihilation which they
call NIBA."—_Purchas, Pilgrimage_, 506.

c. 1815.—"... the state of NIBAN, which is the most perfect of all
states. This consists in an almost perpetual extacy, in which those who
attain it are not only free from troubles and miseries of life, from
death, illness and old age, but are abstracted from all sensation; they
have no longer either a thought or a desire."—_Sangermano, Burmese
Empire_, p. 6.

1858.—"... Transience, Pain, and Unreality ... these are the characters
of all existence, and the only true good is exemption from these in the
attainment of NIRWĀNA, whether that be, as in the view of the Brahmin or
the theistic Buddhist, absorption into the supreme essence; or whether it
be, as many have thought, absolute nothingness; or whether it be, as Mr.
Hodgson quaintly phrases it, the _ubi_ or the _modus_ in which the
infinitely attenuated elements of all things exist, in this last and
highest state of abstraction from all particular modifications such as
our senses and understandings are cognisant of."—_Yule, Mission to Ava_,
236.

" "When from between the sál trees at Kusinára he passed into
NIRWÁNA, he (Buddha) ceased, as the extinguished fire ceases."—_Ibid._
239.

1869.—"What Bishop Bigandet and others represent as the popular view of
the NIRVÂNA, in contradistinction to that of the Buddhist divines, was,
in my opinion, the conception of Buddha and his disciples. It represented
the entrance of the soul into rest, a subduing of all wishes and desires,
indifference to joy and pain, to good and evil, an absorption of the soul
into itself, and a freedom from the circle of existences from birth to
death, and from death to a new birth. This is still the meaning which
educated people attach to it, whilst NIRVÂNA suggests rather a kind of
Mohammedan Paradise or of blissful Elysian fields to the minds of the
larger masses."—_Prof. Max Müller, Lecture on Buddhistic Nihilism_, in
_Trübner's Or. Record_, Oct. 16.

1875.—"NIBBĀNAM. Extinction; destruction; annihilation; annihilation of
being, NIRVĀṆA; annihilation of human passion, Arhatship or final
sanctification.... In Trübner's Record for July, 1870, I first propounded
a theory which meets all the difficulties of the question, namely, that
the word NIRVĀṆA is used to designate two different things, the state of
blissful sanctification called Arhatship, and the annihilation of
existence in which Arhatship ends."—_Childers, Pali Dictionary_, pp.
265-266.

" "But at length reunion with the universal intellect takes place;
NIRWANA is reached, oblivion is attained ... the state in which we were
before we were born."—_Draper, Conflict_, &c., 122.

1879.—

"And how—in fulness of the times—it fell
That Buddha died ...
And how a thousand thousand crores since then
Have trod the Path which leads whither he went
Unto NIRVÂNA where the Silence lives."
_Sir E. Arnold, Light of Asia_, 237.

NIZAM, THE, n.p. The hereditary style of the reigning prince of the Hyderabad Territories; 'His Highness the Nizám,' in English official phraseology. This in its full form, _Niz̤ām-ul-Mulk_, was the title of Aṣaf Jāh, the founder of the dynasty, a very able soldier and minister of the Court of Aurangzīb, who became Sūbadār (see SOUBADAR) of the Deccan in 1713. The title is therefore the same that had pertained to the founder of the Ahmednagar dynasty more than two centuries earlier, which the Portuguese called that of NIZAMALUCO. And the circumstances originating the Hyderabad dynasty were parallel. At the death of Aṣaf Jāh (in 1748) he was independent sovereign of a large territory in the Deccan, with his residence at Hyderabad, and with dominions in a general way corresponding to those still held by his descendant.

NIZAMALUCO, n.p. IZAM MALUCO is the form often found in Correa. One of the names which constantly occur in the early Portuguese writers on India. It represents _Niz̤ām-ul-Mulk_ (see NIZAM). This was the title of one of the chiefs at the court of the Bāhmani king of the Deccan, who had been originally a Brahman and a slave. His son Ahmed set up a dynasty at Ahmednagar (A.D. 1490), which lasted for more than a century. The sovereigns of this dynasty were originally called by the Portuguese _Nizamaluco_. Their own title was _Niz̤ām Shāh_, and this also occurs as _Nizamoxa_. [Linschoten's etymology given below is an incorrect guess.]

1521.—"Meanwhile (the Governor Diego Lopes de Sequeira) ... sent Fernão
Camello as ambassador to the NIZAMALUCO, Lord of the lands of Choul, with
the object of making a fort at that place, and arranging for an
expedition against the King of Cambaya, which the Governor thought the
NIZAMALUCO would gladly join in, because he was in a quarrel with that
King. To this he made the reply that I shall relate hereafter."—_Correa_,
ii. 623.

c. 1539.—"_Trelado do Contrato que o Viso Rey_ Dom Garcia de Noronha _fez
com hu_ NIZA MUXAA, _que d'antes se chamava Hu_ NIZA MALUQUO."—_Tombo_,
in _Subsidios_, 115.

1543.—"IZAM MALUCO." See under COTAMALUCO.

1553.—"This city of Chaul ... is in population and greatness of trade one
of the chief ports of that coast; it was subject to the NIZAMALUCO, one
of the twelve Captains of the Kingdom of Decan (which we corruptly call
_Daquem_).... The NIZAMALUCO being a man of great estate, although he
possessed this maritime city, and other ports of great revenue,
generally, in order to be closer to the Kingdom of the Decan, held his
residence in the interior in other cities of his dominion; instructing
his governors in the coast districts to aid our fleets in all ways and
content their captains, and this was not merely out of dread of them, but
with a view to the great revenue that he had from the ships of
Malabar...."—_Barros_, II. ii. 7.

1563.—"... This King of Dely conquered the Decam (see DECCAN) and the
Cuncam (see CONCAM); and retained the dominion a while; but he could not
rule territory at so great a distance, and so placed in it a nephew
crowned as king. This king was a great favourer of foreign people, such
as Turks, Rumis, Coraçonis, and Arabs, and he divided his kingdom into
captaincies, bestowing upon _Adelham_ (whom we call _Idalcam_—see
IDALCAN) the coast from Angediva to Cifardam ... and to NIZAMOLUCO the
coast from Cifardam to Negotana...."—_Garcia_, f. 34_v_.

" "_R._ Let us mount and ride in the country; and by the way you
shall tell me who is meant by NIZAMOXA, as you often use that term to me.

"_O._ At once I tell you he is a king in the Balaghat (see BALAGHAUT)
(_Bagalate_ for _Balagate_), whose father I have often attended, and
sometimes also the son...."—_Ibid._ f. 33_v_.

[1594-5.—"NIZÁM-UL-MULKHIYA." See under IDALCAN.

[1598.—"_Maluco_ is a Kingdome, and _Nisa_ a Lance or Speare, so that
_Nisa Maluco_ is as much as to say as the Lance or Speare of the
Kingdom."—_Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. i. 172. As if _Neza-ul-mulk_, 'spear of
the kingdom.']

NOKAR, s. A servant, either domestic, military, or civil, also pl. _Nokar-logue_, 'the servants.' Hind. _naukar_, from Pers. and _naukar-lōg_. Also _naukar-chākar_, 'the servants,' one of those jingling double-barrelled phrases in which Orientals delight even more than Englishmen (see LOOTY). As regards Englishmen, compare hugger-mugger, hurdy-gurdy, tip-top, highty-tighty, higgledy-piggledy, hocus-pocus, tit for tat, topsy-turvy, harum-scarum, roly-poly, fiddle-faddle, rump and stump, slip-slop. In this case _chākar_ (see CHACKUR) is also Persian. _Naukar_ would seem to be a Mongol word introduced into Persia by the hosts of Chinghiz. According to I. J. Schmidt, _Forschungen im Gebiete der Volker Mittel Asiens_, p. 96, NÜKUR is in Mongol, 'a comrade, dependent, or friend.'

c. 1407.—"L'Emir Khodaidad fit partir avec ce député son serviteur
(NAUKAR) et celui de Mirza Djihanghir. Ces trois personnages joignent la
cour auguste...."—_Abdurrazzāk_, in _Notices et Extraits_, XIV. i. 146.

c. 1660.—"Mahmúd Sultán ... understood accounts, and could reckon very
well by memory the sums which he had to receive from his subjects, and
those which he had to pay to his 'NAUKARS' (apparently armed
followers)."—_Abulghāzi_, by _Desmaisons_, 271.

[1810.—"NOKER." See under CHACKUR.

[1834.—"Its (Balkh) present population does not amount to 2000 souls; who
are chiefly ... the remnant of the Kara NOUKUR, a description of the
militia established here by the Afgans."—_Burnes, Travels into Bokhara_,
i. 238.]

1840.—"NOKER, 'the servant'; this title was borne by Tuli the fourth son
of Chenghiz Khan, because he was charged with the details of the army and
the administration."—_Hammer, Golden Horde_, 460.

NOL-KOLE, s. This is the usual Anglo-Indian name of a vegetable a good deal grown in India, perhaps less valued in England than it deserves, and known here (though rarely seen) as _Kol-rabi_, _kohl-rabi_, 'cabbage-turnip.' It is the _Brassica oleracea_, var. _caulorapa_. The stalk at one point expands into a globular mass resembling a turnip, and this is the edible part. I see my friend Sir G. Birdwood in his _Bombay Products_ spells it _Knolkhol_. It is apparently Dutch, '_Knollkool_' 'Turnip-cabbage; _Chouxrave_ of the French.'

NON-REGULATION, adj. The style of certain Provinces of British India (administered for the most part under the more direct authority of the Central Government in its Foreign Department), in which the ordinary Laws (or REGULATIONS, as they were formerly called) are not in force, or are in force only so far as they are specially declared by the Government of India to be applicable. The original theory of administration in such Provinces was the union of authority in all departments under one district chief, and a kind of paternal despotism in the hands of that chief. But by the gradual restriction of personal rule, and the multiplication of positive laws and rules of administration, and the division of duties, much the same might now be said of the difference between _Regulation_ and _Non-regulation_ Provinces that a witty Frenchman said of Intervention and Non-intervention:—"La _Non-intervention_ est une phrase politique et technique qui veut dire enfin à-peu-près la même chose que _l'Intervention_."

Our friend Gen. F. C. Cotton, R.E., tells us that on Lord Dalhousie's visit to the Neilgherry Hills, near the close of his government, he was riding with the Governor-General to visit some new building. Lord Dalhousie said to him: "It is not a thing that one must say in public, but I would give a great deal that the whole of India should be _Non-regulation_."

The Punjab was for many years the greatest example of a Non-regulation Province. The chief survival of that state of things is that there, as in Burma and a few other provinces, military men are still eligible to hold office in the civil administration.

1860.—"... Nowe what ye ffolke of Bengala worschyppen Sir Jhone
discourseth lityl. This moche wee gadere. Some worschyppin ane Idole
yclept REGULACIOUN and some worschyppen NON-REGULACION (_veluti_ GOG ET
MAGOG)...."—Ext. from a MS. of _The Travels of Sir John Mandevill in the
E. Indies_, lately discovered.

1867.—"... We believe we should indicate the sort of government that
Sicily wants, tolerably well to Englishmen who know anything of India, by
saying that it should be treated in great measure as a 'NON-REGULATION'
province."—_Quarterly Review_, Jan. 1867, p. 135.

1883.—"The Delhi district, happily for all, was a NON-REGULATION
province."—_Life of Ld. Lawrence_, i. 44.

NORIMON, s. Japanese word. A sort of portable chair used in Japan.

[1615.—"He kept himselfe close in a NEREMON."—_Cocks's Diary_, i. 164.]

1618.—"As we were going out of the towne, the street being full of
hackneymen and horses, they would not make me way to passe, but fell a
quarreling with my NEREMONERS, and offred me great abuse...."—_Cocks's
Diary_, ii. 99; [NEREMONNEARS in ii. 23].

1768-71.—"Sedan-chairs are not in use here (in Batavia). The ladies,
however, sometimes employ a conveyance that is somewhat like them, and is
called a NORIMON."—_Stavorinus_, E.T. i. 324.

NOR'-WESTER, s. A sudden and violent storm, such as often occurs in the hot weather, bringing probably a 'dust-storm' at first, and culminating in hail or torrents of rain. (See TYPHOON.)

1810.—"... those violent squalls called 'NORTH-WESTERS,' in consequence
of their usually either commencing in, or veering round to that
quarter.... The force of these NORTH-WESTERS is next to
incredible."—_Williamson, V. M._ ii. 35.

[1827.—"A most frightful NOR' WESTER had come on in the night, every door
had burst open, the peals of thunder and torrents of rain were so
awful...."—_Mrs. Fenton, Diary_, 98.]

NOWBEHAR, n.p. This is a name which occurs in various places far apart, a monument of the former extension of Buddhism. Thus, in the early history of the Mahommedans in Sind, we find repeated mention of a temple called _Nauvihār_ (_Nava-vihāra_, 'New Monastery'). And the same name occurs at Balkh, near the Oxus. (See VIHARA).

NOWROZE, s. Pers. _nau-rōz_, 'New (Year's) Day'; _i.e._ the first day of the Solar Year. In W. India this is observed by the Parsees. [For instances of such celebrations at the vernal equinox, see _Frazer, Pausanias_, iv. 75.]

c. 1590.—"This was also the cause why the NAURÚZ _i Jaláli_ was observed,
on which day, since his Majesty's accession, a great feast was given....
The NEW YEAR'S DAY _feast_ ... commences on the day when the Sun in his
splendour moves to Aries, and lasts till the 19th day of the month
(Farwardīn)."—_Āīn_, ed. _Blochmann_, i. 183, 276.

[1614.—"Their NOROOSE, which is an annual feast of 20 days continuance
kept by the Moors with great solemnity."—_Foster, Letters_, iii. 65.

[1615.—"The King and Prince went a hunting ... that his house might be
fitted against the NOROSE, which began the first Newe Moon in
March."—_Sir T. Roe_, Hak. Soc. i. 138; also see 142.]

1638.—"There are two Festivals which are celebrated in this place with
extraordinary ceremonies; one whereof is that of the first day of the
year, which, with the Persians, they call NAURUS, NAUROS, or NOROSE,
which signifies _nine dayes_, though now it lasts _eighteen_ at least,
and it falls at the moment that the Sun enters Aries."—_Mandelslo_, 41.

1673.—"On the day of the Vernal _Equinox_, we returned to _Gombroon_,
when the _Moores_ introduced their New-Year _Æde_ (see EED) or NOE ROSE,
with Banqueting and great Solemnity."—_Fryer_, 306.

1712.—"Restat NAURUUS, _i.e._ vertentis anni initium, incidens in diem
aequinoctii verni. Non legalis est, sed ab antiquis Persis haereditate
accepta festivitas, omnium caeterarum maxima et solennissima."—_Kaempfer,
Am. Exot._ 162.

1815.—"Jemsheed also introduced the solar year; and ordered the first day
of it, when the sun entered Aries, to be celebrated by a splendid
festival. It is called NAUROZE, or new year's day, and is still the great
festival in Persia."—_Malcolm, H. of Persia_, i. 17.

1832.—"NOW-ROZ (new year's day) is a festival or EED of no mean
importance in the estimation of Mussulman society.... The trays of
presents prepared by the ladies for their friends are tastefully set out,
and the work of many days' previous arrangement. Eggs are boiled hard,
some of these are stained in colours resembling our mottled papers;
others are neatly painted in figures and devices; many are ornamented
with gilding; every lady evincing her own peculiar taste in the prepared
eggs for NOW-ROZ."—_Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, Obsns. on the Mussulmans of
India_, 283-4.

NOWSHADDER, s. Pers. _naushādar_ (Skt. _narasāra_, but recent), Sal-ammoniac, _i.e._ chloride of ammonium.

c. 1300.—We find this word in a medieval list of articles of trade
contained in Capmany's _Memorias de Barcelona_ (ii. App. 74) under the
form NOXADRE.

1343.—"Salarmoniaco, cioè LISCIADRO, e non si dà nè sacco ne cassa con
essa."—_Pegolotti_, p. 17; also see 57, &c.

[1834.—"Sal ammoniac (NOUCHADUR) is found in its native state among the
hills near Juzzak."—_Burnes, Travels into Bokhara_, ii. 166.]

NUDDEEA RIVERS, n.p. See under HOOGLY RIVER, of which these are branches, intersecting the _Nadiya_ District. In order to keep open navigation by the directest course from the Ganges to Calcutta, much labour is, or was, annually expended, under a special officer, in endeavouring during the dry season to maintain sufficient depth in these channels.

NUGGURKOTE, n.p. _Nagarkoṭ_. This is the form used in olden times, and even now not obsolete, for the name of the ancient fortress in the Punjab Himālaya which we now usually know by the name of _Koṭ-kāngra_, both being substantially the same name, _Nagarkoṭ_, 'the fortress town,' or _Koṭ-kā-nagara_, 'the town of the fortress.' [If it be implied that _Kāngra_ is a corruption of _Koṭ-kā-nagara_, the idea may be dismissed as a piece of folk-etymology. What the real derivation of _Kāngra_ is is unknown. One explanation is that it represents the Hind. _khankhaṛa_, 'dried up, shrivelled.'] In yet older times, and in the history of Mahmūd of Ghazni, it is styled Bhīm-nagar. The name _Nagarkoṭ_ is sometimes used by older European writers to designate the Himalayan mountains.

1008.—"The Sultan himself (Mahmūd) joined in the pursuit, and went after
them as far as the fort called _Bhím-nagar_, which is very strong,
situated on the promontory of a lofty hill, in the midst of impassable
waters."—_Al-'Utbi_, in _Elliot_, i. 34.

1337.—"When the sun was in Cancer, the King of the time (Mahommed
Tughlak) took the stone fort of NAGARKOT in the year 738.... It is placed
between rivers like the pupil of an eye ... and is so impregnable that
neither Sikandar nor Dara were able to take it."—_Badr-i-chach_, _ibid._
iii. 570.

c. 1370.—"Sultan Firoz ... marched with his army towards NAGARKOT, and
passing by the valleys of Nákhach-nuhgarhí, he arrived with his army at
NAGARKOT, which he found to be very strong and secure. The idol
Jwálámukhi (see JOWAULLA MOOKHEE), much worshiped by the infidels, was
situated in the road to Nagarkot...."—_Shams-i-Siráj_, _ibid._ iii.
317-318.

1398.—"When I entered the valley on that side of the Siwálik, information
was brought to me about the town of NAGARKOT, which is a large and
important town of Hindustán, and situated in these mountains. The
distance was 30 _kos_, but the road lay through jungles, and over lofty
and rugged hills."—_Autobiog. of Timur_, _ibid._ 465.

1553.—"But the sources of these rivers (Indus and Ganges) though they
burst forth separately in the mountains which Ptolemy calls Imaus, and
which the natives call _Dalanguer_ and NANGRACOT, yet are these mountains
so closely joined that it seems as if they sought to hide these
springs."—_Barros_, I. iv. 7.

c. 1590.—"NAGERKOTE is a city situated upon a mountain, with a fort
called Kangerah. In the vicinity of this city, upon a lofty mountain, is
a place called Mahamaey (_Mahāmāyā_), which they consider as one of the
works of the Divinity, and come in pilgrimage to it from great distances,
thereby obtaining the accomplishment of their wishes. It is most
wonderful that in order to effect this, they cut out their tongues, which
grow again in the course of two or three days...."—_Ayeen_, ed.
_Gladwin_, ii. 119; [ed. _Jarrett_, ii. 312].

1609.—"Bordering to him is another great _Raiaw_ called _Tulluck Chand_,
whose chiefe City is NEGERCOAT, 80 c. from _Lahor_, and as much from
_Syrinan_, in which City is a famous Pagod, called _Ie_ or _Durga_, vnto
which worlds of People resort out of all parts of _India_.... Diuers
_Moores_ also resorte to this Peer...."—_W. Finch_, in _Purchas_, i. 438.

1616.—"27. NAGRA CUTT, the chiefe Citie so called...."—_Terry_, in
_Purchas_, ii.; [ed. 1777, p. 82].

[c. 1617.—"NAKARKUTT."—_Sir T. Roe_, Hak. Soc. ii. 534.]

c. 1676.—"The caravan being arriv'd at the foot of the Mountains which
are call'd at this day by the name of NAUGROCOT, abundance of people come
from all parts of the Mountain, the greatest part whereof are women and
maids, who agree with the Merchants to carry them, their Goods and
provisions cross the Mountains...."—_Tavernier_, E.T. ii. 183; [ed.
_Ball_, ii. 263].

1788.—"Kote Kangrah, the fortress belonging to the famous temple of
NAGORCOTE, is given at 49 royal cosses, equal to 99 G. miles, from
Sirhind (northward)."—_Rennell, Memoir_, ed. 1793, p. 107.

1809.—"At Patancote, where the Padshah (so the Sikhs call Runjeet) is at
present engaged in preparations and negotiations for the purpose of
obtaining possession of COTE CAUNGRAH (or NAGAR COTE), which place is
besieged by the Raja of Nepaul...."—_Elphinstone_, in _Life_, i. 217.

NUJEEB, s. Hind. from Ar. _najīb_, 'noble.' A kind of half-disciplined infantry soldiers under some of the native Governments; also at one time a kind of militia under the British; receiving this honorary title as being gentlemen volunteers.

[c. 1790.—"There were 1000 men, NUDJEEVES, sword men...." Evidence of
Sheikh Mohammed, quoted by Mr. Plumer, in Trial of W. Hastings, in
_Bond_, iii. 393.

[1796.—"The NEZIBS are Matchlock men."—_W. A. Tone, A Letter on the
Mahratta People_, Bombay, 1798, p. 50.]

1813.—"There are some corps (Mahratta) styled NUJEEB or men of good
family.... These are foot soldiers invariably armed with a sabre and
matchlock, and having adopted some semblance of European discipline are
much respected."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ ii. 46; [2nd ed. i. 343].

[ " "A corps of NUJEEBS, or infantry with
matchlocks...."—_Broughton, Letters from a Mahratta Camp_, ed. 1892, p.
11.

[1817.—"In some instances they are called NUJEEB (literally, Noble) and
would not deign to stand sentry or perform any fatiguing duty."—_V.
Blacker, Mem. of the Operations in India_ in 1817-19, p. 22.]

NULLAH, s. Hind. _nālā_. A watercourse; not necessarily a dry watercourse, though this is perhaps more frequently indicated in the Anglo-Indian use.

1776.—"When the water falls in all the NULLAHS...."—_Halhed's Code_, 52.

c. 1785.—"Major Adams had sent on the 11th Captain Hebbert ... to throw a
bridge over Shinga NULLAH."—_Carraccioli, Life of Clive_, i. 93.

1789.—"The ground which the enemy had occupied was entirely composed of
sandhills and deep NULLAHS...."—_Munro, Narrative_, 224.

1799.—"I think I can show you a situation where two embrasures might be
opened in the bank of the NULLAH with advantage."—_Wellington,
Despatches_, i. 26.

1817.—"On the same evening, as soon as dark, the party which was destined
to open the trenches marched to the chosen spot, and before daylight
formed a NULLAH ... into a large parallel."—_Mill's Hist._ v. 377.

1843.—"Our march tardy because of the NULLAHS. Watercourses is the right
name, but we get here a slip-slop way of writing quite
contemptible."—_Life of Sir C. Napier_, ii. 310.

1860.—"The real obstacle to movement is the depth of the NULLAHS hollowed
out by the numerous rivulets, when swollen by the rains."—_Tennent's
Ceylon_, ii. 574.

NUMDA, NUMNA, s. Hind. _namda_, _namdā_, from Pers. _namad_, [Skt. _namata_]. Felt; sometimes a woollen saddle-cloth, properly made of felt. The word is perhaps the same as Ar. _namaṭ_, 'a coverlet,' spread on the seat of a sovereign, &c.

[1774.—"The apartment was full of people seated on NÆMETS (felts of camel
hair) spread round the sides of the room...."—_Hanway, Hist. Account of
British Trade_, i. 226.]

1815.—"That chief (Temugin or Chingiz), we are informed, after addressing
the Khans in an eloquent harangue, was seated upon a black felt or
NUMMUD, and reminded of the importance of the duties to which he was
called."—_Malcolm, H. of Persia_, i. 410.

[1819.—"A Kattie throws a NUNDA on his mare."—_Trans. Lit. Soc. Bo._ i.
279.]

1828.—"In a two-poled tent of a great size, and lined with yellow woollen
stuff of Europe, sat Nader Koolee Khan, upon a coarse NUMUD...."—_The
Kuzzilbash_, i. 254.

[1850.—"The natives use (for their tents) a sort of woollen stuff, about
half an inch thick, called 'NUMBDA.'... By the bye, this word 'NUMBDA' is
said to be the origin of the word _nomade_, because the nomade tribes
used the same material for their tents" (!)—Letter in _Notes and
Queries_, 1st ser. i. 342.]

NUMERICAL AFFIXES, CO-EFFICIENTS, or DETERMINATIVES.[190] What is meant by these expressions can perhaps be best elucidated by an extract from the _Malay Grammar_ of the late venerable John Crawfurd:

"In the enumeration of certain objects, the Malay has a peculiar idiom which, as far as I know, does not exist in any other language of the Archipelago. It is of the same nature as the word 'head,' as we use it in the tale of cattle, or 'sail' in the enumeration of ships; but in Malay it extends to many familiar objects. _Alai_, of which the original meaning has not been ascertained, is applied to such tenuous objects as leaves, grasses, &c.; _Batang_, meaning 'stem,' or 'trunk,' to trees, logs, spears, and javelins; _Bantak_, of which the meaning has not been ascertained, to such objects as rings; _Bidang_, which means 'spreading' or 'spacious,' to mats, carpets, thatch, sails, skins, and hides; _Biji_, 'seeds,' to corn, seeds, stones, pebbles, gems, eggs, the eyes of animals, lamps, and candlesticks," and so on. Crawfurd names 8 or 9 other terms, one or other of which is always used in company with the numeral, in ennumerating different classes of objects, as if, in English, idiom should compel us to say 'two _stems_ of spears,' 'four _spreads_ of carpets,' 'six _corns_ of diamonds.' As a matter of fact we do speak of 20 _head_ of cattle, 10 _file_ of soldiers, 100 _sail_ of ships, 20 _pieces_ of cannon, a dozen _stand_ of rifles. But still the practice is in none of these cases obligatory, it is technical and exceptional; insomuch that I remember, when a boy, in old Reform-Bill days, and when disturbances were expected in a provincial town, hearing it stated by a well-informed lady that a great proprietress in the neighbourhood was so alarmed that she had ordered from town a _whole stand of muskets_!

To some small extent the idiom occurs also in other European languages, including French and German. Of French I don't remember any example now except _tête_ (de betail), nor of German except _Stück_, which is, however, almost as universal as the Chinese _piecey_. A quaint example dwells in my memory of a German courier, who, when asked whether he had any employer at the moment, replied: '_Ja freilich! dreizehn_ Stück _Amerikaner_!'

The same peculiar idiom that has been described in the extract from Crawfurd as existing in Malay, is found also in Burmese. The Burmese affixes seem to be more numerous, and their classification to be somewhat more arbitrary and sophisticated. Thus _oos_, a root implying 'chief' or 'first,' is applied to kings, divinities, priests, &c.; _Yauk_, 'a male,' to rational beings not divine; _Gaung_, 'a brute beast,' to irrational beings; _Pya_ implying superficial extent, to dollars, countries, dishes, blankets, &c.; _Lun_, implying rotundity, to eggs, loaves, bottles, cups, toes, fingers, candles, bamboos, hands, feet, &c.; _Tseng_ and _Gyaung_, 'extension in a straight line,' to rods, lines, spears, roads, &c.

The same idiom exists in Siamese, and traces of it appear in some of the vocabularies that have been collected of tribes on the frontier of China and Tibet, indicated by the fact that the numerals in such vocabularies in various instances show identity of origin in the essential part of the numeral, whilst a different aspect is given to the whole word by a variation in what appears to be the numeral-affix[191] (or what Mr. Brian Hodgson calls the 'servile affix'). The idiom exists in the principal vernaculars of China itself, and it is a transfer of this idiom from Chinese dialects to Pigeon-English which has produced the _piecey_, which in that quaint jargon seems to be used as the universal numerical affix ("Two _piecey_ cooly," "three _piecey_ dollar," &c.).

This one PIGEON phrase represents scores that are used in the vernaculars. For in some languages the system has taken what seems an extravagant development, which must form a great difficulty in the acquisition of colloquial use by foreigners. Some approximate statistics on this subject will be given below.

The idiom is found in Japanese and Corean, but it is in these cases possibly not indigenous, but an adoption from the Chinese.

It is found in several languages of C. America, _i.e._ the Quiché of Guatemala, the Nahault of Mexico Proper; and in at least two other languages (Tep and Pirinda) of the same region. The following are given as the co-efficients or determinatives chiefly used in the (Nahualt or) Mexican. Compare them with the examples of Malay and Burmese usage already given:

_Tetl_ (a stone) used for roundish or cylindrical objects; _e.g._ eggs, beans, cacao beans, cherries, prickly-pears, Spanish loaves, &c., also for books, and fowls:

_Pantli_ (?) for long rows of persons and things; also for walls and furrows:

_Tlamantli_ (from _mana_, to spread on the ground), for shoes, dishes, basins, paper, &c., also for speeches and sermons:

_Olotl_ (maize-grains) for ears of maize, cacao-pods, bananas: also for flint arrow-heads (see _W. v. Humboldt, Kawi-Sprache_, ii. 265).

I have, by the kind aid of my friend Professor Terrien de la Couperie, compiled a list of nearly fifty languages in which this curious idiom exists. But it takes up too much space to be inserted here. I may, however, give his statistics of the number of such determinatives, as assigned in the grammars of some of these languages. In Chinese vernaculars, from 33 in the Shanghai vernacular to 110 in that of Fuchau. In Corean, 12; in Japanese, 16; in Annamite, 106; in Siamese, 24; in Shan, 42; in Burmese, 40; in Malay and Javanese, 19.

If I am not mistaken, the propensity to give certain technical and appropriated titles to couples of certain beasts and birds, which had such an extensive development in old English sporting phraseology, and still partly survives, had its root in the same state of mind, viz. difficulty in grasping the idea of abstract numbers, and a dislike to their use. Some light to me was, many years ago, thrown upon this feeling, and on the origin of the idiom of which we have been speaking, by a passage in a modern book, which is the more noteworthy as the author does not make any reference to the existence of this idiom in any language, and possibly was not aware of it:

"On entering into conversation with the (Red) Indian, it becomes speedily
apparent that he is unable to comprehend the idea of abstract numbers.
They exist in his mind only as associated ideas. He has a distinct
conception of five dogs or five deer, but he is so unaccustomed to the
idea of number as a thing apart from specific objects, that I have tried
in vain to get an Indian to admit that the idea of the number five, as
associated in his mind with five dogs, is identical, as far as number is
concerned, with that of five fingers."—(_Wilson's Prehistoric Man_, 1st
ed. ii. 470.) [Also see _Tylor, Primitive Culture_, 2nd ed. i. 252
_seqq._].

Thus it seems probable that the use of the _numeral_ co-efficient, whether in the Malay idiom or in our old sporting phraseology, is a kind of _survival_ of the effort to bridge the difficulty felt, in identifying abstract numbers as applied to different objects, by the introduction of a common concrete term.

Traces of a like tendency, though probably grown into a mere fashion and artificially developed, are common in Hindustani and Persian, especially in the official written style of _munshīs_, who delight in what seemed to me, before my attention was called to the Indo-Chinese idiom, the wilful surplusage (_e.g._) of two 'sheets' (_fard_) of letters, also used with quilts, carpets, &c.; three 'persons' (_nafar_) of barḳandāzes; five 'rope' (_rās_) of buffaloes; ten 'chains' (_zanjīr_) of elephants; twenty 'grips' (_ḳabẓa_) of swords, &c. But I was not aware of the extent of the idiom in the _munshī's_ repertory till I found it displayed in Mr. Carnegy's _Kachahri Technicalities_, under the head of _Muḥāwara_ (Idioms or Phrases). Besides those just quoted, we there find _'adad_ ('number') used with coins, utensils, and sleeveless garments; _dāna_ ('grain') with pearls and coral beads; _dast_ ('hand') with falcons, &c., shields, and robes of honour; _jild_ (volume, lit. 'skin') with books; _muhār_ ('nose-bit') with camels; _ḳiṭa_ ('portion,' _piecey!_) with precious stones, gardens, tanks, fields, letters; _manzil_ ('a stage on a journey, an alighting place') with tents, boats, houses, carriages, beds, howdas, &c.; _sāz_ ('an instrument') with guitars, &c.; _silk_ ('thread') with necklaces of all sorts, &c. Several of these, with others purely Turkish, are used also in Osmanli Turkish.[192]

NUNCATIES, s. Rich cakes made by the Mahommedans in W. India chiefly imported into Bombay from Surat. [There is a Pers. word, _nānḵhat̤āi_, 'bread of Cathay or China,' with which this word has been connected. But Mr. Weir, Collector of Surat, writes that it is really _nankhaṭāī_, Pers. _nān_, 'bread,' and Mahr. _khaṭ_, _shaṭ_, 'six'; meaning a special kind of cake composed of six ingredients—wheat-flour, eggs, sugar, butter or ghee, leaven produced from toddy or grain, and almonds.]

[NUT, s. Hind. _nath_, Skt. _nastā_, 'the nose.' The nose-ring worn by Indian women.

[1819.—"An old fashioned NUTH or nose-ring, stuck full of precious or
false stones."—_Trans. Lit. Soc. Bo._ i. 284.

[1832.—"The NUT (nose-ring) of gold wire, on which is strung a ruby
between two pearls, worn only by married women."—_Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali,
Obsns._ i. 45.]

NUT PROMOTION, s. From its supposed indigestible character, the kernel of the CASHEW-nut is so called in S. India, where, roasted and hot, it is a favourite dessert dish. [See _Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. ii. 28.]

NUZZER, s. Hind. from Ar. _naẓr_ or _nazar_ (prop. _nadhr_), primarily 'a vow or votive offering'; but, in ordinary use, a ceremonial present, properly an offering from an inferior to a superior, the converse of _in'ām_. The root is the same as that of _Nazarite_ (Numbers, vi. 2).

[1765.—"The congratulatory NAZIRS, &c., shall be set opposite my ordinary
expenses; and if ought remains, it shall go to Poplar, or some other
hospital."—Letter of _Ld. Clive_, Sept. 30, in _Verelst, View of Bengal_,
127.

[c. 1775.—"The Governor lays before the board two bags ... which were
presented to him in NIZZERS...."—Progs. of Council, quoted by Fox in
speech against W. Hastings, in _Bond_, iv. 201.]

1782.—"Col. Monson was a man of high and hospitable household expenses;
and so determined against receiving of presents, that he would not only
not touch a NAZIER (a few silver rupees, or perhaps a gold mohor) always
presented by COUNTRY gentlemen, according to their rank...."—_Price's
Tracts_, ii. 61.

1785.—"Presents of ceremony, called NUZZERS, were to many a great portion
of their subsistence...."—Letter in _Life of Colebrooke_, 16.

1786.—Tippoo, even in writing to the French Governor of Pondichery, whom
it was his interest to conciliate, and in acknowledging a present of 500
muskets, cannot restrain his insolence, but calls them "sent by way of
NUZR."—_Select Letters of Tippoo_, 377.

1809.—"The Aumil himself offered the NAZUR of fruit."—_Ld. Valentia_, i.
453.

[1832.—"I ... looked to the Meer for explanation; he told me to accept
Muckabeg's 'NUZZA.'"—_Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, Observns._ i. 193.]

1876.—"The Standard has the following curious piece of news in its Court
Circular of a few days ago:—

'Sir Salar Jung was presented to the Queen by the Marquis of Salisbury,
and offered his MUGGUR as a token of allegiance, which her Majesty
touched and returned.'"—_Punch_, July 15.

For the true sense of the word so deliciously introduced instead of
NUZZER, see MUGGUR.

O

OART, s. A coco-nut garden. The word is peculiar to Western India, and is a corruption of Port. _orta_ (now more usually _horta_). "Any man's particular allotment of coco-nut trees in the groves at Mahim or Girgaum is spoken of as his OART." (_Sir G. Birdwood_).

1564.—"... e me praz de fazer merce a dita cidade emfatiota para sempre
que a ortaliça des ORTAS dos moradores Portuguezes o christãos que nesta
cidade de Goa e ilha tẽ ... possão vender...." &c.—_Proclamation of Dom
Sebastian_, in _Archiv. Port. Orient._ fasc. 2, 157.

c. 1610.—"Il y a vn grand nombre de _Palmero_ ou ORTA, comme vous diriez
ici de nos vergers, pleins d'arbres de Cocos, plantez bien pres à pres;
mais ils ne viennent qu'ès lieux aquatiques et bas...."—_Pyrard de
Laval_, ii. 17-18; [Hak. Soc. ii. 28].

1613.—"E os naturaes habitão ao longo do ryo de Malaca, em seus pomares e
ORTHAS."—_Godinho de Eredia_, 11.

1673.—"Old Goa ... her Soil is luxurious and Campaign, and abounds with
Rich Inhabitants, whose Rural Palaces are immured with Groves and
HORTOS."—_Fryer_, 154.

[1749.—"... as well _Vargems_ (Port. _vargem_, 'a field') lands as
HORTAS."—Letter in _Logan, Malabar_, iii. 48.]

c. 1760.—"As to the OARTS, or Coco-nut groves, they make the most
considerable part of the landed property."—_Grose_, i. 47.

1793.—"For sale.... That neat and commodious Dwelling House built by Mr.
William Beal; it is situated in a most lovely OART...."—_Bombay Courier_,
Jan. 12.

OBANG, s. Jap. _Oh'o-ban_, lit. 'greater division.' The name of a large oblong Japanese gold piece, similar to the KOBANG (q.v.), but of 10 times the value; 5 to 6 inches in length and 3 to 4 inches in width, with an average weight of 2564 grs. troy. First issued in 1580, and last in 1860. Tavernier has a representation of one.

[1662.—"A thousand OEBANS of gold, which amount to forty seven thousand
_Thayls_, or Crowns."—_Mandelslo_, E.T. Bk. ii. 147 (_Stanf. Dict._).

[1859.—"The largest gold coin known is the OBANG, a most inconvenient
circulating medium, as it is nearly six inches in length, and three
inches and a half in breadth."—_Oliphant, Narrative of Mission_, ii.
232.]

OLD STRAIT, n.p. This is an old name of the narrow strait between the island of Singapore and the mainland, which was the old passage followed by ships passing towards China, but has long been abandoned for the wider strait south of Singapore and north of Bintang. It is called by the Malays _Salāt Tambrau_, from an edible fish called by the last name. It is the Strait of Singapura of some of the old navigators; whilst the wider southern strait was known as New Strait or GOVERNOR'S STRAITS (q.v.).

1727.—"... _Johore Lami_, which is sometimes the Place of that King's
Residence, and has the Benefit of a fine deep large River, which admits
of two Entrances into it. The smallest is from the Westward, called by
_Europeans_ the Streights of _Sincapore_, but by the Natives _Salleta de
Brew_" (_i.e._ _Salāt Tambrau_, as above).—_A. Hamilton_, ii. 92; [ed.
1744].

1860.—"The OLD STRAITS, through which formerly our Indiamen passed on
their way to China, are from 1 to 2 miles in width, and except where a
few clearings have been made ... with the shores on both sides covered
with dense jungle ... doubtless, in old times, an isolated vessel ...
must have kept a good look out against attack from piratical _prahus_
darting out from one of the numerous creeks."—_Cavenagh, Rem. of an
Indian Official_, 285-6.

OLLAH, s. Tam. _ōlai_, Mal. _ōla_. A palm-leaf; but especially the leaf of the PALMYRA (_Borassus flabelliformis_) as prepared for writing on, often, but incorrectly, termed CADJAN (q.v.). In older books the term _ola_ generally means a native letter; often, as in some cases below, a written order. A very good account of the royal scribes at Calicut, and their mode of writing, is given by Barbosa as follows:—

1516.—"The King of Calecut keeps many clerks constantly in his palace;
they are all in one room, separate and far from the king, sitting on
benches, and there they write all the affairs of the king's revenue, and
his alms, and the pay which is given to all, and the complaints which are
presented to the king, and, at the same time, the accounts of the
collectors of taxes. All this is on broad stiff leaves of the palm-tree,
without ink, with pens of iron; they write their letters in lines drawn
like ours, and write in the same direction as we do. Each of these clerks
has great bundles of these written leaves, and wherever they go they
carry them under their arms, and the iron pen in their hands ... and
amongst these are 7 or 8 who are great confidants of the king, and men
held in great honour, who always stand before him with their pens in
their hand and a bundle of paper under their arm; and each of them has
always several of these leaves in blank but signed at the top by the
king, and when he commands them to despatch any business they write it on
these leaves."—Pp. 110-111, Hak. Soc., but translation modified.

1553.—"All the Gentiles of India ... when they wish to commit anything to
written record, do it on certain palm-leaves which they call OLLA, of the
breadth of two fingers."—_Barros_, I. ix. 3.

" "All the rest of the town was of wood, thatched with a kind of
palm-leaf, which they call OLA."—_Ibid._ I. iv. vii.

1561.—"All this was written by the king's writer, whose business it is to
prepare his OLAS, which are palm-leaves, which they use for
writing-paper, scratching it with an iron point."—_Correa_, i. 212-213.
Correa uses the word in three applications: (_a_) for a palm-leaf as just
quoted; (_b_) for a palm-leaf letter; and (_c_) for (Coco) palm-leaf
thatch.

1563.—"... in the Maldiva Islands they make a kind of vessel which with
its nails, its sails, and its cordage is all made of palm; with the
fronds (which we call OLLA in Malavar) they cover houses and
vessels."—_Garcia_, f. 67.

1586.—"I answered that I was from Venice, that my name was Gasparo Balbi
... and that I brought the emeralds from Venice expressly to present to
his majesty, whose fame for goodness, courtesy, and greatness flew
through all the world ... and all this was written down on an OLLA, and
read by the aforesaid 'Master of the Word' to his Majesty."—_G. Balbi_,
f. 104.

" "But to show that he did this as a matter of justice, he sent a
further order that nothing should be done till they received an OLLA, or
letter of his sign manual written in letters of gold; and so he (the King
of Pegù) ordered all the families of those nobles to be kept prisoners,
even to the women big with child, and the infants in bands, and so he
caused the whole of them to be led upon the said scaffolding; and then
the king sent the OLLA, ordering them to be burnt; and the Decagini
executed the order, and burned the whole of them."—_Ibid._ f. 112-113.

[1598.—"Sayles which they make of the leaves, which leaves are called
OLAS."—_Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. ii. 45.

[1611.—"Two OLLAHS, one to Gimpa Raya...."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 154.]

1626.—"The writing was on leaves of Palme, which they call
OLLA."—_Purchas, Pilgrimage_, 554.

1673.—"The houses are low, and thatched with OLLAS of the
Cocoe-Trees."—_Fryer_, 66.

c. 1690.—"... OLA peculiariter Malabaris dicta, et inter alia Papyri loco
adhibetur."—_Rumphius_, i. 2.

1718.—"... Damulian Leaves, commonly called OLES."—_Prop. of the Gospel_,
&c., iii. 37.

1760.—"He (King Alompra) said he would give orders for OLIOS to be made
out for delivering of what Englishmen were in his _Kingdom_ to
me."—_Capt. Alves, in Dalrymple, Or. Rep._ i. 377.

1806.—"Many persons had their OLLAHS in their hands, writing the sermon
in Tamil shorthand."—_Buchanan, Christian Res._ 2nd ed. 70.

1860.—"The books of the Singhalese are formed to-day, as they have been
for ages past, of OLAS, or strips taken from the young leaves of the
Talipot or the Palmyra palm."—_Tennent, Ceylon_, i. 512.

1870.—"... Un manuscrit sur OLLES...."—_Revue Critique_, June 11, 374.

OMEDWAUR, s. Hind. from Pers. _ummedwār_ (_ummed_, _umed_, 'hope'); literally, therefore, 'a hopeful one'; _i.e._ "an expectant, a candidate for employment, one who awaits a favourable answer to some representation or request." (_Wilson._)

1816.—"The thoughts of being three or four years an OMEEDWAR, and of
staying out here till fifty deterred me."—_M. Elphinstone_, in _Life_, i.
344.

OMLAH, s. This is properly the Ar. pl. _'amalat_, _'amalā_, of _'āmil_ (see AUMIL). It is applied on the Bengal side of India to the native officers, clerks, and other staff of a civil court or CUTCHERRY (q.v.) collectively.

c. 1778.—"I was at this place met by the OMLAH or officers belonging to
the establishment, who hailed my arrival in a variety of boats dressed
out for the occasion."—_Hon. R. Lindsay_, in _Lives of the Lindsays_,
iii. 167.

1866.—"At the worst we will hint to the OMLAHS to discover a fast which
it is necessary they shall keep with great solemnity."—_Trevelyan, The
Dawk Bungalow_, in _Fraser_, lxxiii. 390.

The use of an English plural, _omlahs_, here is incorrect and unusual;
though _omrahs_ is used (see next word).

1878.—"... the subordinate managers, young, inexperienced, and altogether
in the hands of the OMLAH."—_Life in the Mofussil_, ii. 6.

OMRAH, s. This is properly, like the last word, an Ar. pl. (_Umarā_, pl. of _Amīr_—see AMEER), and should be applied collectively to the higher officials at a Mahommedan Court, especially that of the Great Mogul. But in old European narratives it is used as a singular for a lord or grandee of that Court; and indeed in Hindustani the word was similarly used, for we have a Hind. plural _umarāyān_, 'omrahs.' From the remarks and quotations of Blochmann, it would seem that _Manṣabdārs_ (see MUNSUBDAR), from the commandant of 1000 upwards, were styled _umarā-i-kabār_, or _umara-i-'izām_, 'Great Amīrs'; and these would be the _Omrahs_ properly. Certain very high officials were styled _Amīr-ul-Umarā_ (_Āīn_, i. 239-240), a title used first at the Court of the Caliphs.

1616.—"Two OMRAHS who are great Commanders."—_Sir T. Roe._

[ " "The King lately sent out two VMBRAS with horse to fetch him
in."—_Ibid._ Hak. Soc. ii. 417; in the same page he writes _Vmreis_, and
in ii. 445, _Vmraes_.]

c. 1630.—"Howbeit, out of this prodigious rent, goes yearely many great
payments: to his Leiftenants of Provinces, and VMBRAYES of Townes and
Forts."—_Sir T. Herbert_, p. 55.

1638.—"Et sous le commandement de plusieurs autres seigneurs de ceux
qu'ils appellent OMMERAUDES."—_Mandelslo_, Paris, 1659, p. 174.

1653.—"Il y a quantité d'elephans dans les Indes ... les OMARAS s'en
seruent par grandeur."—_De la Boullaye-le-Gouz_, ed. 1657, p. 250.