memsahib
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of memsahib
First recorded in 1855–60; from Hindi, equivalent to mem (from English ma'am ) + sāhib “master” (from Arabic ṣāḥib )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And would have, if the memsahib hadn’t shot me a glance that said, Dear, why don’t we move on from the heron?
From Forbes ● Jun. 4, 2013
Deborah Kerr is very pukka memsahib, and Barry Nelson displays his boyish charm, though the patina of age has begun to dull it.
From Time Magazine Archive
I pretended to know what a memsahib is.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
I shall probably come round to-night to see you after dinner, Steve, and bring memsahib with me.
From Alice Sit-By-The-Fire by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
"No, Memsahib, not even then, for it was better that Old Sarah should die all alone than that the memsahib and the dear, orphan children should die too."
From In Kali's Country Tales from Sunny India by Emily Churchill Thompson Sheets
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
