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Nabob is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, possibly from Hindustani nawāb/navāb, [2] borrowed into English during British colonial rule in India. [3] It is possible this was via the intermediate Portuguese nababo, the Portuguese having preceded the British in India.
The term nabob was borrowed into English from one of the languages of India (originally nawab) and broadly describes colonizers who settled in conquered lands and then returned home with great fortunes. [2] According to one historian there were 55 "fabulously wealthy" nabobs of note in the 1850s. [3]
After Nixon's 1968 victory, Safire served as a speechwriter for him and for Spiro Agnew; he is known for having created Agnew's famous alliterative term, "nattering nabobs of negativism". Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Republican presidential nominee has the chatter, the notoriety, and the cynicism from the famous quote, writes Edward A. Wasserman.
With the 24/7 news cycle occupying our minds and stealing our sanity, we need to fight back.
Spiro Theodore Agnew (/ ˈ s p ɪər oʊ ˈ æ ɡ n juː /; November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973.
Sykes was born in Thornhill in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1732. [1]Having joined the British East India Company, Sykes amassed a fortune in Bengal at the court of the Nawab.
"Nabob" can also be used metaphorically for people who have a grandiose sense of their own importance, as in the famous alliterative dismissal of the news media as "nattering nabobs of negativism" in a speech that was delivered by Nixon's vice president Spiro Agnew and written by William Safire. [6]