Hobson-Jobson

Yule, Henry, Sir, 1820-1889Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 5M words
Chapters: 504

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Hobson-Jobson by A. C. Burnell and Sir Henry YuleAuthor: Yule, Henry, Sir, 1820-1889,Language: English, Class: PE: Language and Literatures: English, Release Date: Dec 24, 2018

Editor's review

Hobson-Jobson is a classic etymological dictionary of English words from the British India period, compiled by Henry Yule and A. C. Burnell, recording the origins, usage, and evolution of a large number of English words derived from Indian and other Eastern languages. It is not an ordinary book to be read from cover to cover but a language-and-culture reference to dip into, with entries interspersed with quotations, anecdotes, and period commentary that often yield unexpected pleasures. For readers studying the history of English vocabulary, colonial-era language contact, or cross-cultural translation, it is an indispensable primary source; for general readers, it is a window onto how a language absorbs loanwords and how it records foreign lands with prejudice and imagination. It is best read by looking up specific entries, understood against historical background, and approached with a critical awareness of its colonial-era tone.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers of English lexical history and etymology who need to check words of Indian origin
Scholars of literature and history interested in colonial-era language contact and cross-cultural translation
Erudite readers who enjoy browsing dictionary entries and finding interest in entry anecdotes

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping to read a narrative work from beginning to end
Beginners with weak English needing Chinese glosses and systematic explanation
Users expecting concise definitions and updated usage in the style of a modern standard dictionary

Reading tips

No need to read straight through; start with Indian-origin entries you already know, then expand through quotations and cross-references.
Note the dates and sources of quotations as you read, and understand shifts in meaning against a timeline of Indian colonial history.
Stay alert to the period prejudices and jocular tone in the entries, and cross-check against modern etymological dictionaries.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can this book be used as an ordinary dictionary?

You can look words up, but it differs from a modern standard dictionary. It emphasizes etymological research and historical quotations, and its definitions carry the compilers' personal commentary and period tone; it suits tracing word origins, not everyday English definition lookup.

Can I read it without a background in Indian history?

You can, but understanding will suffer. The entries are closely tied to the administration, commerce, religion, and daily life of British India; a basic grasp of the historical arc from the East India Company era to the nineteenth century will make browsing entries much smoother.

What does the title Hobson-Jobson mean?

The title itself is an example of phonetic change after a foreign word is absorbed into English, often cited to illustrate how words are reshaped in crossing languages. Many entries record precisely such sound changes and borrowings, so the title can serve as an entry point to the book's overall theme.

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About the author

Yule, Henry, Sir, 1820-1889 Author

Sir Henry Yule (1820–1889) was a British scholar best known for co-compiling Hobson-Jobson with A. C. Burnell. This dictionary-style work systematically collects and explains English words derived from Indian and South Asian languages, covering the trade, administration, and everyday life of the colonial period, and it remains an important reference for the study of English etymology and Anglo-Indian cultural contact. Only one of his works is held in this collection, and public information about his life, education, and career is limited, so no speculation is offered here. Judging from the work available, Yule's writing is distinguished by solid scholarship and clear definitions, attending to the historical origins and contexts of use of each entry; it combines the rigor of a reference work with an essayistic readability and has had a lasting influence on later research into Indian English vocabulary.