memsahib

American  

[mem-sahb, mem-sah-ib, ‐hib, ‐heeb] / ˈmɛm sɑb, ˈmɛm sɑ ɪb, ‐hɪb, ‐hib /

noun

1. (formerly, in India) a term of respect for a married European woman.

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memsahib British  

/ -hɪb, ˈmɛmˌsɑːɪb /

noun

1. (formerly in India) a term of respect used of a European married woman

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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

Equally no English artist would have thought of painting the bark of that cross section the same brilliant yellow as the oriole; the tentative washes of a memsahib's watercolour are a world away.

From BBC

I pretended to know what a memsahib is.

From Literature

Both look rather like memsahibs, or the children of memsahibs, themselves.

From The Guardian

Paula McLain’s new novel, “Circling the Sun,” is a throwback to that old Africa — the one that belonged to the British — where house boys wear white gloves and serve tea to memsahib.

From Washington Post

A rare survivor, Bournes, a family purveyor of “Irish turnips” and Clonakilty pudding, stands out among the curry shops like a memsahib in a harem.

From Economist