Hobson-Jobson

c. A.D. 20.—"Primoque facienda mentio est cholerae; quia commune id stomachi atque intestinorum vitium videri potest ... intestina torquentur, bilis supra infraque erumpit, primum aquae similis: deinde ut in eâ recens caro tota esse videatur, interdum alba, nonnunquam nigra vel varia. Ergo eo nomine morbum hunc χολέραν Graeci nominârunt...." &c.—A. C. Celsi Med. Libri VIII. iv. xi.

c. A.D. 100.—"ΠΕΡῚ ΧΟΛΈΡΗΣ ... θάνατος ἐπῶδυνος καὶ οἴκτιστος σπασμῷ καὶ πνιγὶ καὶ ἐμέσῳ κενῷ."—Aretaeus, De Causis et signis acutorum morborum, ii. 5.

Also Θεραπεία Χολερῆς, in De Curatione Morb. Ac. ii. 4.

1563.—"R. Is this disease the one which kills so quickly, and from which so few recover? Tell me how it is called among us, and among them, and its symptoms, and the treatment of it in use?

"O. Among us it is called Collerica passio...."—Garcia, f. 74v.

[1611.—"As those ill of Colera."—Couto, Dialogo de Soldado Pratico, p. 5.]

1673.—"The Diseases reign according to the Seasons.... In the extreme Heats, Cholera Morbus."—Fryer, 113-114.

1832.—"Le Choléra Morbus, dont vous me parlez, n'est pas inconnu à Cachemire."—Jacquemont, Corresp. ii. 109.

CHOOLA, s. H. chūlhā, chūlhī, chūlā, fr. Skt. chulli. The extemporized cooking-place of clay which a native of India makes on the ground to prepare his own food; or to cook that of his master.

1814.—"A marble corridor filled up with choolas, or cooking-places, composed of mud, cowdung, and unburnt bricks."—Forbes, Or. Mem. iii. 120; [2nd ed. ii. 193].

c. 1345.—"... the city of Kaulam, which is one of the finest of Malibār. Its bazars are splendid, and its merchants are known by the name of Ṣūlia (i.e. Chūlia)."—Ibn Batuta, iv. 99.

1754.—"Chowlies are esteemed learned men, and in general are merchants."—Ives, 25.

1782.—"We had found ... less of that foolish timidity, and much more disposition to intercourse in the Choliars of the country, who are Mahommedans and quite distinct in their manners...."—Hugh Boyd, Journal of a Journey of an Embassy to Candy, in Misc. Works (1800), i. 155.

1783.—"During Mr. Saunders's government I have known Chulia (Moors) vessels carry coco-nuts from the Nicobar Islands to Madras."—Forrest, Voyage to Mergui, p. v.

" "Chulias and Malabars (the appellations are I believe synonymous)."—Ibid. 24.

1836.—"Mr. Boyd ... describes the Moors under the name of Cholias, and Sir Alexander Johnston designates them by the appellation Lubbies (see LUBBYE). These epithets are, however, not admissible, for the former is only confined to a particular sect among them, who are rather of an inferior grade; and the latter to the priests who officiate."—Casie Chitty, in J. R. A. Soc. iii. 338.

1879.—"There are over 15,000 Klings, Chuliahs, and other natives of India."—Miss Bird, Golden Chersonese, 254.

The word chhāp seems not to have been traced back with any accuracy beyond the modern vernaculars. It has been thought possible (at least till the history should be more accurately traced) that it might be of Portuguese origin. For there is a Port. word chapa, 'a thin plate of metal,' which is no doubt the original of the Old English chape for the metal plate on the sheath of a sword or dagger.^[65] The word in this sense is not in the Portuguese Dictionaries; but we find 'homem chapado,' explained as 'a man of notable worth or excellence,' and Bluteau considers this a metaphor 'taken from the chapas or plates of metal on which the kings of India caused their letters patent to be engraven.' Thus he would seem to have regarded, though perhaps erroneously, the chhāpā and the Portuguese chapa as identical. On the other hand, Mr. Beames entertains no doubt that the word is genuine Hindi, and connects it with a variety of other words signifying striking, or pressing. And Thompson in his Hindi Dictionary says that chhāppā is a technical term used by the Vaishnavas to denote the sectarial marks (lotus, trident, &c.), which they delineate on their bodies. Fallon gives the same meaning, and quotes a Hindi verse, using it in this sense. We may add that while chhāpā is used all over the N.W.P. and Punjab for printed cloths, Drummond (1808) gives chhāpānīya, chhapārā, as words for 'Stampers or Printers of Cloth' in Guzerati, and that the passage quoted below from a Treaty made with an ambassador from Guzerat by the Portuguese in 1537, uses the word chapada for struck or coined, exactly as the modern Hindi verb chhāpnā might be used.^[66] Chop, in writers prior to the last century, is often used for the seal itself. "Owen Cambridge says the Mohr was the great seal, but the small or privy seal was called a 'chop' or 'stamp.'" (C. P. Brown).

The word chop is hardly used now among Anglo-Indians in the sense of seal or stamp. But it got a permanent footing in the 'Pigeon English' of the Chinese ports, and thence has come back to England and India, in the phrase "first-chop," i.e. of the first brand or quality.

The word chop (chāp) is adopted in Malay [with the meanings of seal-impression, stamp, to seal or stamp, though there is, as Mr. Skeat points out, a pure native word tera or tra, which is used in all these senses;] and chop has acquired the specific sense of a passport or licence. The word has also obtained a variety of applications, including that just mentioned, in the lingua franca of foreigners in the China seas. Van Braam applies it to a tablet bearing the Emperor's name, to which he and his fellow envoys made kotow on their first landing in China (Voyage, &c., Paris, An vi., 1798, i. 20-21). Again, in the same jargon, a chop of tea means a certain number of chests of tea, all bearing the same brand. Chop-houses are customs stations on the Canton River, so called from the chops, or seals, used there (Giles, Glossary). Chop-dollar is a dollar chopped, or stamped with a private mark, as a guarantee of its genuineness (ibid.). (Dollars similarly marked had currency in England in the first quarter of last century, and one of the present writers can recollect their occasional occurrence in Scotland in his childhood). The grand chop is the port clearance granted by the Chinese customs when all dues have been paid (ibid.). All these have obviously the same origin; but there are other uses of the word in China not so easily explained, e.g. chop, for 'a hulk'; chop-boat for a lighter or cargo-boat.

In Captain Forrest's work, quoted below, a golden badge or decoration, conferred on him by the King of Achin, is called a chapp (p. 55). The portrait of Forrest, engraved by Sharp, shows this badge, and gives the inscription, translated: "Capt. Thomas Forrest, Orancayo [see ORANKAY] of the Golden Sword. This chapp was conferred as a mark of honour in the city of Atcheen, belonging to the Faithful, by the hands of the Shabander [see SHAHBUNDER] of Atcheen, on Capt. Thomas Forrest."

[1534.—"The Governor said that he would receive nothing save under his chapa." "Until he returned from Badur with his reply and the chapa required."—Correa, iii. 585.]

1537.—"And the said Nizamamede Zamom was present and then before me signed, and swore on his Koran (moçafo) to keep and maintain and fulfil this agreement entirely ... and he sealed it with his seal" (e o chapo de sua chapa).—Treaty above quoted, in S. Botelho, Tombo, 228.

1552.—"... ordered ... that they should allow no person to enter or to leave the island without taking away his chapa.... And this chapa was, as it were, a seal."—Castanheda, iii. 32.

1614.—"The King (of Achen) sent us his Chop."—Milward, in Purchas, i. 526.

1615.—"Sailed to Acheen; the King sent his Chope for them to go ashore, without which it was unlawful for any one to do so."—Sainsbury, i. 445.

[ " "2 chistes plate ... with the rendadors chape upon it."—Cocks's Diary, i. 219.]

1618.—"Signed with my chop, the 14th day of May (sic), in the Yeare of our Prophet Mahomet 1027."—Letter from Gov. of Mocha, in Purchas, i. 625.

1673.—"The Custom-house has a good Front, where the chief Customer appears certain Hours to chop, that is to mark Goods outward-bound."—Fryer, 98.

1678.—"... sending of our Vuckeel this day to Compare the Coppys with those sent, in order to y^e Chaup, he refused it, alledging that they came without y^e Visiers Chaup to him...."—Letter (in India Office) from Dacca Factory to Mr. Matthias Vincent (Ft. St. George?).

1682.—"To Rajemaul I sent ye old Duan ...'s Perwanna, Chopt both by the Nabob and new Duan, for its confirmation."—Hedges, Diary, Hak. Soc. i. 37.

1689.—"Upon their Chops as they call them in India, or Seals engraven, are only Characters, generally those of their Name."—Ovington, 251.

1711.—"This (Oath at Acheen) is administered by the Shabander ... lifting, very respectfully, a short Dagger in a Gold Case, like a Scepter, three times to their Heads; and it is called receiving the Chop for Trade."—Lockyer, 35.

1715.—"It would be very proper also to put our chop on the said Books."—In Wheeler, ii. 224.

c. 1720.—"Here they demanded tax and toll; felt us all over, not excepting our mouths, and when they found nothing, stamped a chop upon our arms in red paint; which was to serve for a pass."—Zesteen Jaarige Reize ... door Jacob de Bucquoy, Haarlem, 1757.

1727.—"On my Arrival (at Acheen) I took the Chap at the great River's Mouth, according to Custom. This Chap is a Piece of Silver about 8 ounces Weight, made in Form of a Cross, but the cross Part is very short, that we ... put to our Fore-head, and declare to the Officer that brings the Chap, that we come on an honest Design to trade."—A. Hamilton, ii. 103.

1771.—"... with Tiapp or passports."—Osbeck, i. 181.

1782.—"... le Pilote ... apporte avec lui leur chappe, ensuite il adore et consulte son Poussa, puis il fait lever l'ancre."—Sonnerat, ii. 233.

1783.—"The bales (at Acheen) are immediately opened; 12 in the hundred are taken for the king's duty, and the remainder being marked with a certain mark (chapp) may be carried where the owner pleases."—Forrest, V. to Mergui, 41.

1785.—"The only pretended original produced was a manifest forgery, for it had not the chop or smaller seal, on which is engraved the name of the Mogul."—Carraccioli's Clive, i. 214.

1817.—"... and so great reluctance did he (the Nabob) show to the ratification of the Treaty, that Mr. Pigot is said to have seized his chop, or seal, and applied it to the paper."—Mill's Hist. iii. 340.

1876.—"'First chop! tremendously pretty too,' said the elegant Grecian, who had been paying her assiduous attention."—Daniel Deronda, Bk. I. ch. x.

1882.—"On the edge of the river facing the 'Pow-shan' and the Creek Hongs, were Chop houses, or branches of the Hoppo's department, whose duty it was to prevent smuggling, but whose interest it was to aid and facilitate the shipping of silks ... at a considerable reduction on the Imperial tariff."—The Fankwae at Canton, p. 25.

The writer last quoted, and others before him, have imagined a Chinese origin for chop, e.g., as "from chah, 'an official note from a superior,' or chah, 'a contract, a diploma, &c.,' both having at Canton the sound chăp, and between them covering most of the 'pigeon' uses of chop" (Note by Bishop Moule). But few of the words used by Europeans in Chinese trade are really Chinese, and we think it has been made clear that chop comes from India.

CHOP-CHOP. Pigeon-English (or -Chinese) for 'Make haste! look sharp!' This is supposed to be from the Cantonese, pron. kăp-kăp, of what is in the Mandarin dialect kip-kip. In the Northern dialects kwai-kwai, 'quick-quick' is more usual (Bishop Moule). [Mr. Skeat compares the Malay chepat-chepat, 'quick-quick.']

[1773.—"... from their not being provided with a sufficient number of boats, there was a necessity for crouding a large party of Sepoys into one, by which the chuppar, or upper slight deck broke down."—Ives, 174.]

1780.—"About 20 Days ago a Villian was detected here setting fire to Houses by throwing the Tickeea^[67] of his Hooka on the Choppers, and was immediately committed to the Phouzdar's Prison.... On his tryal ... it appering that he had more than once before committed the same Nefarieus and abominable Crime, he was sentenced to have his left Hand, and right Foot cut off.... It is needless to expatiate on the Efficacy such exemplary Punishments would be of to the Publick in general, if adopted on all similar occasions...."—Letter from Moorshedabad, in Hicky's Bengal Gazette, May 6.

1782.—"With Mr. Francis came the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Laws of England, partial oppression, and licentious liberty. The common felons were cast loose, ... the merchants of the place told that they need not pay duties ... and the natives were made to know that they might erect their chappor huts in what part of the town they pleased."—Price, Some Observations, 61.

1810.—"Chuppers, or grass thatches."—Williamson, V. M. i. 510.

c. 1817.—"These cottages had neat choppers, and some of them wanted not small gardens, fitly fenced about."—Mrs. Sherwood's Stories, ed. 1873, 258.

[1832.—"The religious devotee sets up a chupha-hut without expence."—Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, ii. 211.]

[b. In Persia, a corr. of P. chār-pā, 'on four feet, a quadruped' and thence a mounted post and posting.

1812.—"Eight of the horses belong to the East India Company, and are principally employed in carrying choppers or couriers to Shiraz."—Morier, Journey through Persia, &c., p. 64.

1883.—"By this time I had begun to pique myself on the rate I could get over the ground 'en chuppar.'"—Wills, In the Land of the Lion and the Sun, ed. 1891, p. 259.]

CHOPPER-COT, a. Much as this looks like a European concoction, it is a genuine H. term, chhappar khāṭ, 'a bedstead with curtains.'

1778.—"Leito com armação. Châpâr cátt."—Grammatica Indostana, 128.

c. 1809.—"Bedsteads are much more common than in Puraniya. The best are called Palang, or Chhapar Khat ... they have curtains, mattrasses, pillows, and a sheet...."—Buchanan, Eastern India, ii. 92.

c. 1817.—"My husband chanced to light upon a very pretty chopper-cot, with curtains and everything complete."—Mrs. Sherwood's Stories, ed. 1873, 161. (See COT.)

CHOPSTICKS, s. The sticks used in pairs by the Chinese in feeding themselves. The Chinese name of the article is 'kwai-tsz,' 'speedy-ones.' "Possibly the inventor of the present word, hearing that the Chinese name had this meaning, and accustomed to the phrase chop-chop for 'speedily,' used chop as a translation" (Bishop Moule). [Prof. Giles writes: "The N.E.D. gives incorrectly kwai-tze, i.e. 'nimble boys,' 'nimble ones.' Even Sir H. Yule is not without blemish. He leaves the aspirate out of kwai, of which the official orthography is now k'uai-k'uai-tzŭ, 'hasteners,' the termination -ers bringing out the value of tzŭ, an enclitic particle, better than 'ones.' Bishop Moule's suggestion is on the right track. I think, however, that chopstick came from a Chinaman, who of course knew the meaning of k'uai and applied it accordingly, using the 'pidgin' word chop as the, to him, natural equivalent."]

c. 1540.—"... his young daughters, with their brother, did nothing but laugh to see us feed ourselves with our hands, for that is contrary to the custome which is observed throughout the whole empire of China, where the Inhabitants at their meat carry it to their mouthes with two little sticks made like a pair of Cizers" (this is the translator's folly; it is really com duos paos feitos como fusos—"like spindles")."—Pinto, orig. cap. lxxxiii., in Cogan, p. 103.

[1598.—"Two little peeces of blacke woode made round ... these they use instead of forkes."—Linschoten, Hak. Soc. i. 144.]

c. 1610.—"... ont comme deux petites spatules de bois fort bien faites, qu'ils tiennent entre leurs doigts, et prennent avec cela ce qu'ils veulent manger, si dextrement, que rien plus."—Mocquet, 346.

1711.—"They take it very dexterously with a couple of small Chopsticks, which serve them instead of Forks."—Lockyer, 174.

1876.—"Before each there will be found a pair of chopsticks, a wine-cup, a small saucer for soy ... and a pile of small pieces of paper for cleaning these articles as required."—Giles, Chinese Sketches, 153-4.

1853.—"After a bath, and hasty ante-breakfast (which is called in India 'a little breakfast') at the Euston Hotel, he proceeded to the private residence of a man of law."—Oakfield, ii. 179.

1866.—"There is one small meal ... it is that commonly known in India by the Hindustani name of chota-hāziri, and in our English colonies as 'Early Tea.'..."—Waring, Tropical Resident, 172.

1875.—"We took early tea with him this morning."—The Dilemma, ch. iii.

A.D. c. 80-90.—"Μετὰ δὲ Καλλιέναν ἄλλα ἐμπόρια τοπικὰ, Σήμυλλα, καὶ Μανδαγόρα...."—Periplus.

A.D. c. 150.—"Σίμυλλα ἐμπόριον (καλούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων Τίμουλα)."—Ptol. i. cap. 17.

A.D. 916. "The year 304 I found myself in the territory of Ṣaimūr (or Chaimūr), belonging to Hind and forming part of the province of Lār.... There were in the place about 10,000 Mussulmans, both of those called baiāsirah (half-breeds), and of natives of Sirāf, Omān, Basrah, Bagdad, &c."—Maṣ'ūdi, ii. 86.

[1020.—"Jaimúr." See quotation under LAR.]

c. 1150.—"Saimūr, 5 days from Sindān, is a large, well-built town."—Edrisi, in Elliot, i. [85].

c. 1470.—"We sailed six weeks in the taca till we reached Chivil, and left Chivil on the seventh week after the great day. This is an Indian country."—Ath. Nikitin, 9, in India in XVth. Cent.

1510.—"Departing from the said city of Combeia, I travelled on until I arrived at another city named Cevul (Chevul) which is distant from the above-mentioned city 12 days' journey, and the country between the one and the other of these cities is called Guzerati."—Varthema, 113.

1546.—Under this year D'Acunha quotes from Freire d'Andrada a story that when the Viceroy required 20,000 pardaos (q.v.) to send for the defence of Diu, offering in pledge a wisp of his mustachio, the women of Choul sent all their earrings and other jewellery, to be applied to this particular service.

1554.—"The ports of Mahaim and Sheúl belong to the Deccan."—The Mohit, in J.A.S.B., v. 461.

1584.—"The 10th of November we arrived at Chaul which standeth in the firme land. There be two townes, the one belonging to the Portugales, and the other to the Moores."—R. Fitch, in Hakl. ii. 384.

c. 1630.—"After long toil ... we got to Choul; then we came to Daman."—Sir T. Herbert, ed. 1665, p. 42.

1635.—"Chíval, a seaport of Deccan."—Sádik Isfaháni, 88.

1727.—"Chaul, in former Times, was a noted Place for Trade, particularly for fine embroidered Quilts; but now it is miserably poor."—A. Hamilton, i. 243.

1782.—"That St. Lubin had some of the Mahratta officers on board of his ship, at the port of Choul ... he will remember as long as he lives, for they got so far the ascendancy over the political Frenchman, as to induce him to come into the harbour, and to land his cargo of military stores ... not one piece of which he ever got back again, or was paid sixpence for."—Price's Observations on a Late Publication, &c., 14. In Price's Tracts, vol. i.

1673.—"Here (at Swally near Surat) we were welcomed by the Deputy President ... who took care for my Entertainment, which here was rude, the place admitting of little better Tenements than Booths stiled by the name of Choultries."—Fryer, 82.

" "Maderas ... enjoys some Choultries for Places of Justice."—Ibid. 39.

1683.—"... he shall pay for every slave so shipped ... 50 pagodas to be recovered of him in the Choultry of Madraspattanam."—Order of Madras Council, in Wheeler, i. 136.

1689.—"Within less than half a Mile, from the Sea (near Surat) are three Choultries or Convenient Lodgings made of Timber."—Ovington, 164.

1711.—"Besides these, five Justices of the Choultry, who are of the Council, or chief Citizens, are to decide Controversies, and punish offending Indians."—Lockyer, 7.

1714.—In the MS. List of Persons in the Service, &c. (India Office Records), we have:—

"Josiah Cooke ffactor Register of the Choultry, £15."

1727.—"There are two or three little Choulteries or Shades built for Patients to rest in."—A. Hamilton, ch. ix.; [i. 95].

[1773.—"A Choltre is not much unlike a large summer-house, and in general is little more than a bare covering from the inclemency of the weather. Some few indeed are more spacious, and are also endowed with a salary to support a servant or two, whose business is to furnish all passengers with a certain quantity of rice and fresh water."—Ives, 67.]

1782.—"Les fortunes sont employées à bâtir des Chauderies sur les chemins."—Sonnerat, i. 42.

1790.—"On ne rencontre dans ces voyages aucune auberge ou hôtellerie sur la route; mais elles sont remplacées par des lieux de repos appelées schultris (chauderies), qui sont des bâtimens ouverts et inhabités, où les voyageurs ne trouvent, en général, qu'un toit...."—Haafner, ii. 11.

1809.—"He resides at present in an old Choultry which has been fitted up for his use by the Resident."—Ld. Valentia, i. 356.

1817.—"Another fact of much importance is, that a Mahomedan Sovereign was the first who established Choultries."—Mill's Hist. ii. 181.

1820.—"The Chowree or town-hall where the public business of the township is transacted, is a building 30 feet square, with square gable-ends, and a roof of tile supported on a treble row of square wooden posts."—Acc. of Township of Loony, in Tr. Lit. Soc. Bombay, ii. 181.

1833.—"Junar, 6th Jan. 1833.... We at first took up our abode in the Chawadī, but Mr. Escombe of the C. S. kindly invited us to his house."—Smith's Life of Dr. John Wilson, 156.

1836.—"The roads are good, and well supplied with choultries or taverns"(!)—Phillips, Million of Facts, 319.

1879.—"Let an organised watch ... be established in each village ... armed with good tulwars. They should be stationed each night in the village chouri."—Overland Times of India, May 12, Suppl. 7b.

See also CHUTTRUM.

CHOULTRY PLAIN, n.p. This was the name given to the open country formerly existing to the S.W. of Madras. Choultry Plain was also the old designation of the Hd. Quarters of the Madras Army; equivalent to "Horse Guards" in Westminster (C. P. B. MS.).

1780.—"Every gentleman now possessing a house in the fort, was happy in accommodating the family of his friend, who before had resided in Choultry Plain. Note. The country near Madras is a perfect flat, on which is built, at a small distance from the fort, a small choultry."—Hodges, Travels, 7.

CHOUSE, s. and v. This word is originally Turk. chāush, in former days a sergeant-at-arms, herald, or the like. [Vambéry (Sketches, 17) speaks of the Tchaush as the leader of a party of pilgrims.] Its meaning as 'a cheat,' or 'to swindle' is, apparently beyond doubt, derived from the anecdote thus related in a note of W. Gifford's upon the passage in Ben Jonson's Alchemist, which is quoted below. "In 1609 Sir Robert Shirley sent a messenger or chiaus (as our old writers call him) to this country, as his agent, from the Grand Signor and the Sophy, to transact some preparatory business. Sir Robert followed him, at his leisure, as ambassador from both these princes; but before he reached England, his agent had chiaused the Turkish and Persian merchants here of 4000l., and taken his flight, unconscious perhaps that he had enriched the language with a word of which the etymology would mislead Upton and puzzle Dr. Johnson."—Ed. of Ben Jonson, iv. 27. "In Kattywar, where the native chiefs employ Arab mercenaries, the Chaus still flourishes as an officer of a company. When I joined the Political Agency in that Province, there was a company of Arabs attached to the Residency under a Chaus." (M.-Gen. Keatinge). [The N.E.D. thinks that "Gifford's note must be taken with reserve." The Stanf. Dict. adds that Gifford's note asserts that two other Chiauses arrived in 1618-1625. One of the above quotations proves his accuracy as to 1618. Perhaps, however, the particular fraud had little to do with the modern use of the word. As Jonson suggests, chiaus may have been used for 'Turk' in the sense of 'cheat'; just as Cataian stood for 'thief' or 'rogue.' For a further discussion of the word see N. & Q., 7 ser. vi. 387; 8 ser. iv. 129.]

1560.—"Cum vero me taederet inclusionis in eodem diversorio, ago cum meo Chiauso (genus id est, ut tibi scripsi alias, multiplicis apud Turcas officii, quod etiam ad oratorum custodiam extenditur) ut mihi liceat aere meo domum conducere...."—Busbeq. Epist. iii. p. 149.

1610.—"Dapper.... What do you think of me, that I am a chiaus?

Face. What's that?

Dapper. The Turk was here.
As one would say, do you think I am a Turk?

* * * * *

Face. Come, noble doctor, pray thee let's prevail;
This is the gentleman, and he's no chiaus."
Ben. Jonson, The Alchemist, Act I. sc. i.

1638.—

"Fulgoso. Gulls or Moguls,

Tag, rag, or other, hogen-mogen, vanden,

Ship-jack or chouses. Whoo! the brace are flinched.

The pair of shavers are sneak'd from us, Don...."

Ford, The Lady's Trial, Act II. sc. i.

1619.—"Con gli ambasciatori stranieri che seco conduceva, cioè l'Indiano, di Sciah Selim, un ciausc Turco ed i Moscoviti...."—P. della Valle, ii. 6.

1653.—"Chiaoux en Turq est vn Sergent du Diuan, et dans la campagne la garde d'vne Karauane, qui fait le guet, se nomme aussi Chiaoux, et cet employ n'est pas autrement honeste."—Le Gouz, ed. 1657, p. 536.

1659.—

"Conquest. We are

In a fair way to be ridiculous.

What think you? Chiaus'd by a scholar."

Shirley, Honoria & Mammon, Act II. sc. iii.

1663.—"The Portugals have choused us, it seems, in the Island of Bombay in the East Indys; for after a great charge of our fleets being sent thither with full commission from the King of Portugal to receive it, the Governour by some pretence or other will not deliver it to Sir Abraham Shipman."—Pepys, Diary, May 15; [ed. Wheatley iii. 125].

1674.—

"When geese and pullen are seduc'd

And sows of sucking pigs are chows'd."

Hudibras, Pt. II. canto 3.

1674.—

"Transform'd to a Frenchman by my art;

He stole your cloak, and pick'd your pocket,

Chows'd and caldes'd ye like a blockhead."

Ibid.

1754.—"900 chiaux: they carried in their hand a baton with a double silver crook on the end of it; ... these frequently chanted moral sentences and encomiums on the Shah, occasionally proclaiming also his victories as he passed along."—Hanway, i. 170.

1762.—"Le 27^e d'Août 1762 nous entendîmes un coup de canon du chateau de Kâhira, c'étoit signe qu'un Tsjaus (courier) étoit arrivé de la grande caravane."—Niebuhr, Voyage, i. 171.

1826.—"We started at break of day from the northern suburb of Ispahan, led by the chaoushes of the pilgrimage...."—Hajji Baba, ed. 1835, p. 6.

CHOW-CHOW, s. A common application of the Pigeon-English term in China is to mixed preserves; but, as the quotation shows, it has many uses; the idea of mixture seems to prevail. It is the name given to a book by Viscountess Falkland, whose husband was Governor of Bombay. There it seems to mean 'a medley of trifles.' Chow is in 'pigeon' applied to food of any kind. ["From the erroneous impression that dogs form one of the principal items of a Chinaman's diet, the common variety has been dubbed the 'chow dog'" (Ball, Things Chinese, p. 179).] We find the word chow-chow in Blumentritt's Vocabular of Manilla terms: "Chau-chau, a Tagal dish so called."

1858.—"The word chow-chow is suggestive, especially to the Indian reader, of a mixture of things, 'good, bad, and indifferent,' of sweet little oranges and bits of bamboo stick, slices of sugar-cane and rinds of unripe fruit, all concocted together, and made upon the whole into a very tolerable confection....

"Lady Falkland, by her happy selection of a name, to a certain extent deprecates and disarms criticism. We cannot complain that her work is without plan, unconnected, and sometimes trashy, for these are exactly the conditions implied in the word chow-chow."—Bombay Quarterly Review, January, p. 100.

1882.—"The variety of uses to which the compound word 'chow-chow' is put is almost endless.... A 'No. 1 chow-chow' thing signifies utterly worthless, but when applied to a breakfast or dinner it means 'unexceptionably good.' A 'chow-chow' cargo is an assorted cargo; a 'general shop' is a 'chow-chow' shop ... one (factory) was called the 'chow-chow,' from its being inhabited by divers Parsees, Moormen, or other natives of India."—The Fankwae, p. 63.

c. 1300.—"... The people were brought to such a state of obedience that one revenue officer would string twenty ... chaudharis together by the neck, and enforce payment by blows."—Ziā-ud-dīn Barnī, in Elliot, iii. 183.

c. 1343.—"The territories dependent on the capital (Delhi) are divided into hundreds, each of which has a Jautharī, who is the Sheikh or chief man of the Hindus."—Ibn Batuta, iii. 388.

[1772.—"Chowdrahs, land-holders, in the next rank to Zemeendars."—Verelst, View of Bengal, Gloss. s.v.]

1788.—"Chowdry.—A Landholder or Farmer. Properly he is above the Zemindar in rank; but, according to the present custom of Bengal, he is deemed the next to the Zemindar. Most commonly used as the principal purveyor of the markets in towns or camps."—Indian Vocabulary (Stockdale's).

CHOWK, s. H. chauk. An open place or wide street in the middle of a city where the market is held, [as, for example, the Chāndnī Chauk of Delhi]. It seems to be adopted in Persian, and there is an Arabic form Sūḳ, which, it is just possible, may have been borrowed and Arabized from the present word. The radical idea of chauk seems to be "four ways" [Skt. chatushka], the crossing of streets at the centre of business. Compare Carfax, and the Quattro Cantoni of Palermo. In the latter city there is a market place called Piazza Ballarò, which in the 16th century a chronicler calls Seggeballarath, or as Amari interprets, Sūḳ-Balharā.

[1833.—"The Chandy Choke, in Delhi ... is perhaps the broadest street in any city in the East."—Skinner, Excursions in India, i. 49.]

CHOWNEE, s. The usual native name, at least in the Bengal Presidency, for an Anglo-Indian cantonment (q.v.). It is H. chhāonī, 'a thatched roof,' chhāonā, chhānā, v. 'to thatch.'

[1829.—"The Regent was at the chaoni, his standing camp at Gagrown, when this event occurred."—Tod, Annals (Calcutta reprint), ii. 611.]

CHOWRINGHEE, n.p. The name of a road and quarter of Calcutta, in which most of the best European houses stand; Chaurangī.

1789.—"The houses ... at Chowringee also will be much more healthy."—Seton-Karr, ii. 205.

1790.—"To dig a large tank opposite to the Cheringhee Buildings."—Ibid. 13.

1791.—"Whereas a robbery was committed on Tuesday night, the first instant, on the Chowringhy Road."—Ibid. 54.

1792.—"For Private Sale. A neat, compact and new built garden house, pleasantly situated at Chouringy, and from its contiguity to Fort William, peculiarly well calculated for an officer; it would likewise be a handsome provision for a native lady, or a child. The price is 1500 sicca rupees."—Ibid. ii. 541.

1803.—"Chouringhee, an entire village of palaces, runs for a considerable length at right angles with it, and altogether forms the finest view I ever beheld in any city."—Ld. Valentia, i. 236.

1810.—"As I enjoyed Calcutta much less this time ... I left it with less regret. Still, when passing the Chowringhee road the last day, I—

'Looked on stream and sea and plain

As what I ne'er might see again.'"

Elphinstone, in Life, i. 231.

1848.—"He wished all Cheltenham, all Chowringhee, all Calcutta, could see him in that position, waving his hand to such a beauty, and in company with such a famous buck as Rawdon Crawley, of the Guards."—Vanity Fair, ed. 1867, i. 237.

(b.) H. chaṅwar, chauṅrī; from Skt. chamara, chāmara. The bushy tail of the Tibetan Yak (q.v.), often set in a costly decorated handle to use as a fly-flapper, in which form it was one of the insignia of ancient Asiatic royalty. The tail was also often attached to the horse-trappings of native warriors; whilst it formed from remote times the standard of nations and nomad tribes of Central Asia. The Yak-tails and their uses are mentioned by Aelian, and by Cosmas (see under YAK). Allusions to the chāmara, as a sign of royalty, are frequent in Skt. books and inscriptions, e.g. in the Poet Kalidāsa (see transl. by Dr. Mill in J. As. Soc. Beng. i. 342; the Amarakosha, ii. 7, 31, &c.). The common Anglo-Indian expression in the 18th century appears to have been "Cow-tails" (q.v.). And hence Bogle in his Journal, as published by Mr. Markham, calls Yaks by the absurd name of "cow-tailed cows" though "horse-tailed cows" would have been more germane!