Sahib
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A term of respect for a white European or other man of rank in colonial India. historical
"One day when the Man's Wife and the Tertium Quid had just arrived in the Cemetery, they saw some coolies breaking ground. They had marked out a full-size grave, and the Tertium Quid asked them whether any Sahib was sick. They said that they did not know; but it was an order that they should dig a Sahib's grave."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of sahib. alt-of
- 3 formerly a term of respect for important white Europeans in colonial India; used after the name wordnet
Example
More examples"One day when the Man's Wife and the Tertium Quid had just arrived in the Cemetery, they saw some coolies breaking ground. They had marked out a full-size grave, and the Tertium Quid asked them whether any Sahib was sick. They said that they did not know; but it was an order that they should dig a Sahib's grave."
Etymology
From Hindustani صاحب / साहिब (sāhib, “lord”), from Classical Persian صاحب (sāhib), from Arabic صَاحِب (ṣāḥib, “companion”).
Related phrases
More for "sahib"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.