sepoy

Where does the word "sepoy" come from? It comes from Persian sipah, passing through Urdu and Portuguese before entering English (1717).

Sepoy’s story begins in Persian: sipah meant “army, soldier.” Meant "army"; sipahi meant "soldier, horseman". By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Urdu as sipahi. Kept the military sense in Mughal India. From there it passed into Portuguese as sipae by 1600s. Colonial traders used it for locally recruited soldiers. It reached English by 1717 as sepoy. The 1857 rebellion began among sepoys of the Bengal Army at Meerut. Today, sepoy means historically, a native Indian soldier serving under British or other European military command.

1. Stage 1 · Persian · medieval sipah "army, soldier", meant "army"; sipahi meant "soldier, horseman".
2. Stage 2 · Urdu · 1500s sipahi "soldier", kept the military sense in Mughal India.
3. Stage 3 · Portuguese · 1600s sipae "native soldier", colonial traders used it for locally recruited soldiers.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1717 sepoy "Indian soldier in European service", the 1857 rebellion began among sepoys of the Bengal Army at Meerut.