nabob

Etymology

In colloquial use in English since 1612. It comes from a corruption of Hindustani नवाब (navāb) / نواب (navāb, "nawab"), perhaps by way of Portuguese nababo, which traces back to Classical Persian نَوَّاب (nawwāb), from Arabic نُوَّاب (nuwwāb), the honorific plural of نَائِب (nāʔib, "deputy").