Meanings
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1
noun
dated, often disparaging: a very wealthy, powerful, or self-important person
Pap mocked the well-dressed professor as the grandest old nabob in the state.
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2
noun
historical: a provincial governor or ruler in the Mughal Empire; a nawab
The company's agents negotiated with the nabob who governed the province.
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3
noun
historical British: a European who returned wealthy from service or trade in India
The newly returned nabob bought a country estate with his overseas fortune.
Thesaurus
Etymology
An English alteration of nawab, through Portuguese nababo from Hindustani navab, ultimately Arabic nuwwab, the plural of na'ib, 'deputy.' British use shifted from an Indian ruler to a person enriched in India, then to any wealthy or self-important magnate.