Glossary of terms in poetry by Rudyard Kipling

    Aa’or – Cahors?
    Aggy Chell – get ahead
    abby-nay – Not now
    arder – And a half
    aasvogel – Vulture
    babul – Acacia
    bairagi – Wandering holy man
    band karo – locked up
    Bandar – Monkey
    bat – talk
    Beebee Miriam – the Virgin Mary
    biltong – dried meat
    Blue Fuse – Extreme range
    boorga – Hurricane
    bottle-khana – Pantry
    Bukhshi’s – The Commander in chief.
    bul-bul – Nightingale
    burra-khana – dinner
    Burra Sahib – a big man
    Burra Sahib Bahadur – a very big man indeed
    bursati – A skin disease of horses
    bust – Three days leave
    C.B. – Confined to barracks
    Chota Bursat – the early rains
    Churel – The ghost of a woman who has died in childbirth
    C.I.E. – A Companionship of the order of the Indian Empire.
    C.S.I. – The order of the Star of India
    d’k – Stage of a journey ‘ To travel by dak ‘ to travel by relays of palanquins or other carriage, as fast as the post along a road.
    dammer – Native sealing-wax
    darwaza band – doors closed, ‘not at home’
    dasturi – bribes
    De Contemptu Mundi – Hymn No. 226, A. and M., ‘The world is very evil.’
    dhoni – native boat
    Docking and Dowsing – Shoal lights on the East Coast.
    Dop – Cape brandy
    duftar – Office
    ferash – Tamarisk
    ghora l’o – bring my horse
    guddee – Throne
    haramzadas – scoundrels
    Harry By – Mr. Atkins’s equivalent for “O brother.”
    hazar-ho – Wait a bit
    hog-darn – Cigar-lighter
    hokee-mut – very drunk
    holluschickie – The young seal
    hoppin’ – Hop-picking
    Hum deckty hai – I’m looking out.
    Imshee kelb – Get out, you dog.
    jemadar-sais – Head-groom
    jingal – Native cannon
    juldee – Be quick
    jutis – shoes
    kaa-pi chay-ha-yeh – copy wanted
    kafilas – Caravans
    kala juggahs – cosy corners
    kanats – canvas
    karela – A wild melon.
    kikar – Wayside tree
    kitmutgars – Waiters
    khansamah – Butler
    khud – hillside
    ko’l – The Indian bell-bird
    kul – To-morrow
    L.G. – Lieutenant-Govenor
    malliel – The cemetery gardener
    marrow – Hit you
    matkas – She-seals
    Maun Nih’l Seyn – Mount Nelson (?)
    maxima debetur pueris reverentia – The greatest respect is due to young persons
    Mlech – The foreigner
    Mukht-i-Fauj – Salvation Army
    mussick – Water-skin
    musth – Mad
    Nikhal Seyn – Nicholson, a gentleman once of some notoriety in India.
    Non hoc semper erit liminis aut aquae caelestis patiens latus – ‘This side will not always be patient of rain and waiting on the threshold.’
    Number Threes – Horse-holders when in action, and therefore generally under cover.
    Oont – Camel: oo is pronounced like u in “bull”, but by Mr. Atkins to rhyme with “front”.
    pagal – idiot
    panee lao – Bring water swiftly
    peg – Whisky and soda
    p’t – stomach
    Pharisee – A fairy
    samadh – A memorial
    sat-bhai – Indian Starlings
    Screw-Gun – A light artillery piece, made in two parts with the muzzle being screwed into the breech. This allowed the parts of the the gun to be light enough to be carried on mules into inaccessible areas.
    see-catchie – The male seal
    Sheristada – Clerk of the court
    shikarred – Hunted
    shroff – Money-lender
    simpkin – Champagne
    skoff – Food
    slingers – bread soaked in tea
    Suleiman and Aflatoun – Solomon and Plato
    talao – Pond or lake
    Thamesfontein – London
    Thuu – Literally, a rotted out tree-stump
    tonga-bar – Bar of the old fashioned curricle that took men up to Simla before the railroad was made.
    thanca – Police station
    thirteen-two – Polo-pony
    tikka dhurzie – hired tailor
    Trek jou – Get ahead
    tulsi – The Holy Basil
    Upsaras – The Choosers of the Slain.
    Voorloopers – Leading horseman of the enemy
    V.P.P. – Value Payable Parcels Post: in which the Government collects the money for the sender.