nabab

attested in 1614 in the form nauabo and the meaning of 'title given in Muslim India to the great officers of the sultans and to the governors of provinces', from Portuguese nababo borrowed from Urdu nawwāb, nabāb ('viceroy, governor'), itself borrowed from Arabic نائب nā'ib (lieutenant, representative, substitute) via its plural nuwwāb, Hindustani often used Arabic plurals as singulars. In 1777, nabob in the sense of 'European who made a fortune in India' was taken up in 1789 in the etymological form of nabab, a borrowing from English nabob.