babu

noun

ba·​bu ˈbä-(ˌ)bü 

variants or less commonly baboo

often attributive

1

: a Hindu gentleman

—a form of address corresponding to Mr.

2

a

: an Indian clerk who writes English

b

often disparaging : an Indian person having some education in English

Word History

Etymology

Hindi bābū, literally, father

First Known Use

1766, in the meaning defined at sense 1