c. 1563.—"And among these was an Abyssinian (Abexim) called Cide Meriam, a man reckoned a great cavalier, and who entertained 500 horse at his own charges, and who greatly coveted the city of Daman to quarter himself in, or at the least the whole of its pergunnas (parganas—see PERGUNNAH) to devour."—Couto, VII. x. 8.

[c. 1610.—"The greatest insult that can be passed upon a man is to call him Cisdy—that is to say 'cook.'"—Pyrard de Laval, Hak. Soc. i. 173.]

1673.—"An Hobsy or African Coffery (they being preferred here to chief employments, which they enter on by the name of Siddies)."—Fryer, 147.

 "  "He being from a Hobsy Caphir made a free Denizen ... (who only in this Nation arrive to great Preferment, being the Frizled Woolly-pated Blacks) under the known style of Syddies...."—Ibid. 168.

1679.—"The protection which the Siddees had given to Gingerah against the repeated attacks of Sevagi, as well as their frequent annoyance of their country, had been so much facilitated by their resort to Bombay, that Sevagi at length determined to compel the English Government to a stricter neutrality, by reprisals on their own port."—Orme, Fragments, 78.

1690.—"As he whose Title is most Christian, encouraged him who is its principal Adversary to invade the Rights of Christendom, so did Senor Padre de Pandara, the Principal Jesuite and in an adjacent Island to Bombay, invite the Síddy to exterminate all the Protestants there."—Ovington, 157.

1750-60.—"These (islands) were formerly in the hands of Angria and the Siddies or Moors."—Grose, i. 58.

1759.—"The Indian seas having been infested to an intolerable degree by pirates, the Mogul appointed the Siddee, who was chief of a colony of Coffrees (Caffer), to be his Admiral. It was a colony which, having been settled at Dundee-Rajapore, carried on a considerable trade there, and had likewise many vessels of force."—Cambridge's Account of the War, &c., p. 216.

1800.—"I asked him what he meant by a Siddee. He said a hubshee. This is the name by which the Abyssinians are distinguished in India."—T. Munro, in Life, i. 287.

1814.—"Among the attendants of the Cambay Nabob ... are several Abyssinian and Caffree slaves, called by way of courtesy Seddees or Master."—Forbes, Or. Mem. iii. 167; [2nd ed. ii. 225].

1832.—"I spoke of a Sindhee" (Siddhee) "or Habshee, which is the name for an Abyssinian in this country lingo."—Mem. of Col. Mountain, 121.

1885.—"The inhabitants of this singular tract (Soopah plateau in N. Canara) were in some parts Mahrattas, and in others of Canarese race, but there was a third and less numerous section, of pure African descent called Sidhis ... descendants of fugitive slaves from Portuguese settlements ... the same ebony coloured, large-limbed men as are still to be found on the African coast, with broad, good-humoured, grinning faces."—Gordon S. Forbes, Wild Life in Canara, &c., 32-33.

[1896.—

"The Tola or Sicca weight to be equal to 180 grains troy, and the other denominations or weights to be derived from this unit, according to the following scale:—

"The system of weights and measures (?) described in Section IV. is to be adopted at the mints and assay offices of Calcutta and Saugor respectively in the adjustment and verification of all weights for government or public purposes sent thither for examination."

"Standards.—The primary standard of weight shall be called ser, and shall be a weight of metal in the possession of the Government of India, which weight, when weighed in a vacuum, is equal to the weight known in France as the kilogramme des Archives."

1554.—"Porto Grande de Bemgala.—'The maund (mão) with which they weigh all merchandize is of 40 ceres, each cer 182⁄5 ounces; the said maund weighs 46½ arratels (rottle).'"—A. Nunes, 37.

1648.—"One Ceer weighs 18 peysen ... and makes ¾ pound troy weight."—Van Twist, 62.

1748.—"Enfin on verse le tout un serre de l'huile."—Lett. Edif. xiv. 220.

1554.—"E aos Marinheiros hum peixe cerra par mes, a cada hum."—A. Nunez, Livro dos Pesos, 43.

 "  "To Lopo Vaaz, Mestre of the firearms (espingardes), his pay and provisions.... And for his three workmen, at the rate of 2 measures of rice each daily, and half a seer fish (peixe serra) each monthly, and a maund of firewood each monthly."—S. Botelho, Tombo, 235.

1598.—"There is a fish called Piexe Serra, which is cut in round pieces, as we cut Salmon and salt it. It is very good."—Linschoten, 88; [Hak. Soc. ii. 11].

1720.—"Peyxe Serra is ordinarily produced in the Western Ocean, and is so called" etc. (describing the Saw-fish).... "But in the Sea of the Islands of Quirimba (i.e. off Mozambique) there is a different peyxe serra resembling a large corvina,^[239] but much better, and which it is the custom to pickle. When cured it seems just like ham."—Bluteau, Vocab. vii. 606-607.

1727.—"They have great Plenty of Seer-fish, which is as savoury as any Salmon or Trout in Europe."—A. Hamilton, i. 379; [ed. 1744, i. 382].

[1813.—"... the robal, the seir-fish, the grey mullet ... are very good."—Forbes, Or. Mem. 2nd ed. i. 36.]

1860.—"Of those in ordinary use for the table the finest by far is the Seir-fish,^[240] a species of Scomber, which is called Tora-malu by the natives. It is in size and form very similar to the salmon, to which the flesh of the female fish, notwithstanding its white colour, bears a very close resemblance, both in firmness and in flavour."—Tennent's Ceylon, i. 205.

c. 1666.—"He ... commanded, there should be given to each of them an embroider'd Vest, a Turbant, and a Girdle of Silk Embroidery, which is that which they call Ser-apah, that is, an Habit from head to foot."—Bernier, E.T. 37; [ed. Constable, 147].

1673—"Sir George Oxendine ... had a Collat (Killut) or Serpaw, a Robe of Honour from Head to Foot, offered him from the Great Mogul."—Fryer, 87.

1680.—"Answer is returned that it hath not been accustomary for the Governours to go out to receive a bare Phyrmaund (Firmaun), except there come therewith a Serpow or a Tasheriffe (Tashreef)."—Ft. St. Geo. Consn. Dec. 2, in N. & E. No. iii. 40.

1715.—"We were met by Padre Stephanus, bringing two Seerpaws."—In Wheeler, ii. 245.

1727.—"As soon as he came, the King embraced him, and ordered a serpaw or a royal Suit to be put upon him."—A. Hamilton, i. 171 [ed. 1744].

1735.—"The last Nabob (Sadatulla) would very seldom suffer any but himself to send a Seerpaw; whereas in February last Sunta Sahib, Subder Ali Sahib, Jehare Khan and Imaum Sahib, had all of them taken upon them to send distinct Seerpaws to the President."—In Wheeler, iii. 140.

1759.—"Another deputation carried six costly Seerpaws; these are garments which are presented sometimes by superiors in token of protection, and sometimes by inferiors in token of homage."—Orme, i. 159.

1810.—"A very beautiful species of mat is made ... especially in the south-eastern districts ... from a kind of reedy grass.... These are peculiarly slippery, whence they are designated 'seekul-putty' (i.e. polished sheets).... The principal uses of the 'seekul-putty' are to be laid under the lower sheet of a bed, thereby to keep the body cool."—Williamson, V.M. ii. 41.

[1818.—"Another kind (of mat) the shēētŭlŭpatēēs, laid on beds and couches on account of their coolness, are sold from one roopee to five each."—Ward, Hindoos, i. 106.]

1879.—In Fallon's Dicty. we find the following Hindi riddle:—

Which might be rendered:

The answer is an Egg; the Starry Sky; a Snake (Rãj-bansī, 'royal scion,' is a placatory name for a snake); and the Sea.

1817.—"The most common seasoning employed to give a relish to their insipid food is the lombock (i.e. red-pepper); triturated with salt it is called sambel."—Raffles, H. of Java, i. 98.

c. 1300.—"Pride had inflated his brain with wind, which extinguished the light of his intellect, and a few sipāhīs from Hindustan, without any religion, had supported the credit of his authority."—Amīr Khusrū, in Elliot, iii. 536.

[1665.—"Souldier—Suppya and Haddee."—Persian Gloss. in Sir T. Herbert, ed. 1677, p. 99.]

1682.—"As soon as these letters were sent away, I went immediately to Ray Nundelall's to have y^e Seapy, or Nabob's horseman, consigned to me, with order to see y^e Perwanna put in execution; but having thought better of it, y^e Ray desired me to have patience till tomorrow morning. He would then present me to the Nabob, whose commands to y^e Seapy and Bulchunds Vekeel would be more powerfull and advantageous to me than his own."—Hedges, Diary, Hak. Soc. i. 55, seq. Here we see the word still retaining the sense of 'horseman' in India.

[1717.—"A Company of Sepoys with the colours."—Yule, in ditto, II. ccclix. On this Sir H. Yule notes: "This is an occurrence of the word sepoy, in its modern signification, 30 years earlier than any I had been able to find when publishing the A.-I. Gloss. I have one a year earlier, and expect now to find it earlier still."

[1733.—"You are next ... to make a complete survey ... of the number of fighting Sepoys...."—Forrest, Bombay Letters, ii. 55.]

1737.—"Elle com tota a força desponivel, que eram 1156 soldados pagos em que entraram 281 chegados na não Mercês, e 780 sypaes ou lascarins (lascar), recuperon o territorio."—Bosquejo das Possesões Portuguezas no Oriente, &c., por Joaquim Pedro Celestino Soares, Lisboa, 1851, p. 58.

1746.—"The Enemy, by the best Intelligence that could be got, and best Judgment that could be formed, had or would have on Shore next Morning, upwards of 3000 Europeans, with at least 500 Coffrys, and a number of Cephoys and Peons."—Ext. of Diary, &c., in App. to A Letter to a Propr. of the E.I. Co., London, 1750, p. 94.

[1746.—Their strength on shore I compute 2000 Europeans Seapiahs and 300 Coffrees."—Letter from Madras, Oct. 9, in Bengal Consultations. Ibid. p. 600, we have Seapies.]

1747.—"At a Council of War held at Fort St. David the 25th December, 1747.

"It is further ordered that Captn. Crompton keep the Detachment under his Command at Cuddalore, in a readiness to march to the Choultry over against the Fort as soon as the Signal shall be made from the Place, and then upon his firing two Muskets, Boats shall be sent to bring them here, and to leave a serjeant at Cuddalore Who shall conduct his Seapoys to the Garden Guard, and the Serjeant shall have a Word by which He shall be received at the Garden."—Original MS. Proceedings (in the India Office).

 "  The Council of Fort St. David write to Bombay, March 16th, "if they could not supply us with more than 300 Europeans, We should be glad of Five or Six Hundred of the best Northern People their way, as they are reported to be much better than ours, and not so liable to Desertion."

In Consn. May 30th they record the arrival of the ships Leven, Warwick, and Ilchester, Princess Augusta, "on the 28th inst., from Bombay, (bringing) us a General from that Presidency,^[241] as entered No. 38, advising of having sent us by them sundry stores and a Reinforcement of Men, consisting of 70 European Soldiers, 200 Topasses (Topaz), and 100 well-trained Seapoys, all of which under the command of Capt. Thomas Andrews, a Good Officer...."

And under July 13th. "... The Reinforcement of Sepoys having arrived from Tellicherry, which, with those that were sent from Bombay, making a formidable Body, besides what are still expected; and as there is far greater Dependance to be placed on those People than on our own Peons ... many of whom have a very weakly Appearance, Agreed, that a General Review be now had of them, that all such may be discharged, and only the Choicest of them continued in the Service."—MS. Records in India Office.

1752.—"... they quitted their entrenchments on the first day of March, 1752, and advanced in order of battle, taking possession of a rising ground on the right, on which they placed 50 Europeans; the front consisted of 1500 Sipoys, and one hundred and twenty or thirty French."—Complete Hist. of the War in India, 1761, pp. 9-10.

1758.—A Tabular Statement (Mappa) of the Indian troops, 20th Jan. of this year, shows "Corpo de Sipaes" with 1162 "Sipaes promptos."—Bosquejo, as above.

 "  "A stout body of near 1000 Sepoys has been raised within these few days."—In Long, 134.

[1759.—"Boat rice extraordinary for the Gentoo Seapois...."—Ibid. 174.]

1763.—"The Indian natives and Moors, who are trained in the European manner, are called Sepoys."—Orme, i. 80.

1763.—"Major Carnac ... observes that your establishment is loaded with the expense of more Captains than need be, owing to the unnecessarily making it a point that they should be Captains who command the Sepoy Battalions, whereas such is the nature of Sepoys that it requires a peculiar genius and talent to be qualified for that service, and the Battalion should be given only to such who are so without regard to rank."—Court's Letter, of March 9. In Long, 290.

1770.—"England has at present in India an establishment to the amount of 9800 European troops, and 54,000 sipahis well armed and disciplined."—Raynal (tr. 1777), i. 459.

1774.—"Sipai sono li soldati Indiani."—Della Tomba, 297.

1778.—"La porta del Ponente della città sì custodiva dalli sipais soldati Indiani radunati da tutte le tribù, e religioni."—Fra Paolino, Viaggio, 4.

1780.—"Next morning the sepoy came to see me.... I told him that I owed him my life.... He then told me that he was not very rich himself, as his pay was only a pagoda and a half a month—and at the same time drew out his purse and offered me a rupee. This generous behaviour, so different to what I had hitherto experienced, drew tears from my eyes, and I thanked him for his generosity, but I would not take his money."—Hon. J. Lindsay's Imprisonment, Lives of Lindsays, iii. 274.

1782.—"As to Europeans who run from their natural colours, and enter into the service of the country powers, I have heard one of the best officers the Company ever had ... say that he considered them no otherwise than as so many Seapoys; for acting under blacks they became mere blacks in spirit."—Price, Some Observations, 95-96.

1789.—

1803.—"Our troops behaved admirably; the sepoys astonished me."—Wellington, ii. 384.

1827.—"He was betrothed to the daughter of a Sipahee, who served in the mud-fort which they saw at a distance rising above the jungle."—Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter, ch. xiii.

1836.—"The native army of the E. I. Company.... Their formation took place in 1757. They are usually called sepoys, and are light and short."—In R. Phillips, A Million of Facts, 718.

1881.—"As early as A.D. 1592 the chief of Sind had 200 natives dressed and armed like Europeans: these were the first 'sepoys.'"—Burton's Camoens, A Commentary, ii. 445.

1759.—"De quinze mille Cipayes dont l'armée est censée composée, j'en compte à peu près huit cens sur la route de Pondichery, chargé de sucre et de poivre et autres marchandises, quant aux Coulis, ils sont tous employés pour le même objet."—Letter of Lally to the Governor of Pondicherry, in Cambridge's Account, p. 150.

c. 1835-38.—

1554.—"Aderant magnis muneribus praepositi multi, aderant praetoriani equites omnes Sphai, Garipigi, Ulufagi, Gianizarorum magnus numerus, sed nullus in tanto conventu nobilis nisi ex suis virtutibus et fortibus factis."—Busbeq, Epistolae, i. 99.

[1562.—"The Spachi, and other orders of horsemen."—J. Shute, Two Comm. (Tr.) fol. 53 ro. Stanf. Dict. where many early instances of the word will be found.]

1672.—"Mille ou quinze cents Spahiz, tous bien équippés et bien montés ... terminoient toute ceste longue, magnifique, et pompeuse cavalcade."—Journal d'Ant. Galland, i. 142.

1675.—"The other officers are the sardar (Sirdar), who commands the Janizaries ... the Spahi Aga, who commands the Spahies or Turkish Horse."—Wheeler's Journal, 348.

[1686.—"I being providentially got over the river before the Spie employed by them could give them intelligence."—Hedges, Diary, Hak. Soc. i. 229.]

1738.—"The Arab and other inhabitants are obliged, either by long custom ... or from fear and compulsion, to give the Spahees and their company the mounah ... which is such a sufficient quantity of provision for ourselves, together with straw and barley for our mules and horses."—Shaw's Travels in Barbary, ed. 1757, p. xii.

1786.—"Bajazet had two years to collect his forces ... we may discriminate the janizaries ... a national cavalry, the Spahis of modern times."—Gibbon, ch. lxv.

1877.—"The regular cavalry was also originally composed of tribute children.... The sipahis acquired the same pre-eminence among the cavalry which the janissaries held among the infantry, and their seditious conduct rendered them much sooner troublesome to the Government."—Finlay, H. of Greece, ed. 1877, v. 37.

c. 1584.—"At Saraium Turcis palatium principis est, vel aliud amplum aedificium, non a Czar^[242] voce Tatarica, quae regem significat, dictum; vnde Reineccius Saragliam Turcis vocari putet, ut regiam. Nam aliae quoque domus, extra Sultani regiam, nomen hoc ferunt ... vt ampla Turcorum hospitia, sive diversoria publica, quae vulgo Caravasarias (Caravanseray) nostri vocant."—Leunclavius, ed. 1650, p. 403.

1609.—"... by it the great Suray, besides which are diuers others, both in the city and suburbs, wherein diuers neate lodgings are to be let, with doores, lockes, and keys to each."—W. Finch, in Purchas, i. 434.

1614.—"This term serraglio, so much used among us in speaking of the Grand Turk's dwelling ... has been corrupted into that form from the word serai, which in their language signifies properly 'a palace.'... But since this word serai resembles serraio, as a Venetian would call it, or seraglio as we say, and seeing that the palace of the Turk is (serrato or) shut up all round by a strong wall, and also because the women and a great part of the courtiers dwell in it barred up and shut in, so it may perchance have seemed to some to have deserved such a name. And thus the real term serai has been converted into serraglio."—P. della Valle, i. 36.

1615.—"Onely from one dayes Journey to another the Sophie hath caused to bee erected certaine kind of great harbours, or huge lodgings (like hamlets) called caravan-sara, or surroyes, for the benefite of Caravanes...."—De Montfart, 8.

1616.—"In this kingdome there are no Innes to entertaine strangers, only in great Townes and Cities are faire Houses built for their receit, which they call Sarray, not inhabited, where any Passenger may haue roome freely, but must bring with him his Bedding, his Cooke, and other necessaries."—Terry, in Purchas, ii. 1475.

1638.—"Which being done we departed from our Serray (or Inne)."—W. Bruton, in Hakl. v. 49.

1648.—"A great sary or place for housing travelling folk."—Van Twist, 17.

[1754.—"... one of the Sciddees (seedy) officers with a party of men were lodged in the Sorroy...."—Forrest, Bombay Letters, i. 307.]

1782.—"The stationary tenants of the Serauee, many of them women, and some of them very pretty, approach the traveller on his entrance, and in alluring language describe to him the varied excellencies of their several lodgings."—Forster, Journey, ed. 1808, i. 86.

1825.—"The whole number of lodgers in and about the serai, probably did not fall short of 500 persons. What an admirable scene for an Eastern romance would such an inn as this afford!"—Heber, ed. 1844, ii. 122.

1850.—"He will find that, if we omit only three names in the long line of the Delhi Emperors, the comfort and happiness of the people were never contemplated by them; and with the exception of a few saráís and bridges,—and these only on roads traversed by the imperial camps—he will see nothing in which purely selfish considerations did not prevail."—Sir H. M. Elliot, Original Preface to Historians of India, Elliot, I. xxiii.

c. 1666.—"... my Navab having vouchsafed me a very particular favour, which is, that he hath appointed to give me every day a new loaf of his house, and a Souray of the water of Ganges ... Souray is that Tin-flagon full of water, which the Servant that marcheth on foot before the Gentleman on horseback, carrieth in his hand, wrapt up in a sleeve of red cloath."—Bernier, E.T. 114; [ed. Constable, 356].

1808.—"We had some bread and butter, two surahees of water, and a bottle of brandy."—Elphinstone, in Life, i. 183.

[1880.—"The best known is the gilt silver work of Cashmere, which is almost confined to the production of the water-vessels or sarais, copied from the clay goblets in use throughout the northern parts of the Panjab."—Birdwood, Indust. Arts of India, 149.]

1599.—"... there set sail two Portuguese vessels which were come to Amacao (Macao) from the City of Goa, as occurs every year. They are commanded by Captains, with Pilots, quartermasters, clerks, and other officers, who are Portuguese; but manned by sailors who are Arabs, Turks, Indians, and Bengalis, who serve for so much a month, and provide themselves under the direction and command of a chief of their own whom they call the Saranghi, who also belongs to one of these nations, whom they understand, and recognise and obey, carrying out the orders that the Portuguese Captain, Master, or Pilot may give to the said Saranghi."—Carletti, Viaggi, ii. 206.

1690.—"Indus quem de hoc Ludo consului fuit scriba satis peritus ab officio in nave suâ dictus le saràng, Anglicè Boatswain seú Boson."—Hyde, De Ludis Orientt. in Syntagma, ii. 264.

[1822.—"... the ghaut syrangs (a class of men equal to the kidnappers of Holland and the crimps of England)...."—Wallace, Fifteen Years in India, 256.]

[1753.—"... a fillet. This they call a sirpeach, which is wore round the turban; persons of great distinction generally have them set with precious stones."—Hanway, iv. 191.

[1786.—"Surpaishes." See under CULGEE.

[1813.—"Serpeych." See under KILLUT.]

1740.—"The Sets being all present at the Board inform us that last year they dissented to the employment of Fillick Chund (&c.), they being of a different caste; and consequently they could not do business with them."—In Long, p. 9.

1757.—"To the Seats Mootabray and Roopchund the Government of Chandunagore was indebted a million and a half Rupees."—Orme, ii. 138 of reprint (Bk. viii.).

1770.—"As soon as an European arrived the Gentoos, who know mankind better than is commonly supposed, study his character ... and lend or procure him money upon bottomry, or at interest. This interest, which is usually 9 per cent. at this, is higher when he is under a necessity of borrowing of the Cheyks.

"These Cheyks are a powerful family of Indians, who have, time immemorial, inhabited the banks of the Ganges. Their riches have long ago procured them the management of the bank belonging to the Court...."—Raynal, tr. 1777, i. 427. Note that by Cheyks the Abbé means Setts.

[1883.—"... from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin a security endorsed by the Mathura Seth is as readily convertible into cash as a Bank of England Note in London or Paris."—F. S. Growse, Mathura, 14.]