Hobson-Jobson by Henry Yule and A. C. Burnell is the celebrated glossary of Anglo-Indian vocabulary — the words that English absorbed from the languages of India during the colonial era. Witty, learned, and endlessly digressive, it traces the origins of terms from bungalow and shampoo to juggernaut and pundit.
More than a dictionary, the work is a treasure-house of etymology, history, and anecdote, reflecting the rich contact between English and the tongues of the subcontinent. Its quotations span centuries of travel writing and correspondence. It remains a beloved reference and a fascinating record of how languages borrow and transform one another’s words.