sepoy

== English == === Etymology === From Portuguese sipae, from Urdu سِپاہی (sipāhī) / Hindi सिपाही (sipāhī), from Classical Persian سِپَاهِی (sipāhī, “soldier, horseman”), from سِپَاه (sipāh, “army”). Doublet of spahi and sipahi. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈsiːˌpɔɪ/, /sɪˈpɔɪ/ Rhymes: -iːpɔɪ Hyphenation: se‧poi === Noun === sepoy (plural sepoys) (historical, military) A native soldier of the East Indies, employed in the service of a European colonial power, notably the British India army (first under the British-chartered East India Company, later in the crown colony), but also France and Portugal. (India, Pakistan, Nepal) The holder of an infantry enlisted rank equivalent to private in other countries. ==== Descendants ==== → Dutch: sepoy, sipoy → Indonesian: sepoy → German: Sepoy → Italian: sepoy → Swedish: sepoy → Finnish: sepoy → Turkish: sepoy ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === “sepoy”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. “sepoy”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. “sepoy”, in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2026 “sepoy”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present. === Anagrams === Posey, poesy, posey, poyse, poësy == Dutch == === Etymology === Borrowed from English sepoy. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈsi.pɔi̯/ === Noun === sepoy m (plural sepoys, diminutive sepoytje n) (historical) a sepoy, native soldier in the British East Indies, in particular British India