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Bombay duck

noun

Etymology

Uncertain. The first component may be a modification of Marathi बोंबील (bombīl), the local Marathi name for the fish. The second has been dubiously associated by folk etymology with dak (“Indian postal system”).

Definitions

  1. An edible lizardfish, Harpadon nehereus, found in the waters around Mumbai

  2. A member of the Bombay regiments of the East India Company's army.

    • For her sake he recounted his Indian experiences — told of his arrival in India; […] of the Bombay Ducks, that celebrated European regiment, of whom every man could drink a quart of rum a day, and fight a pitched battle if need were.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for Bombay duck. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA