qui-hi

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi कोई है (koī hai, “is anyone there?”).

Interjection

qui-hi

1. (India, historical) An Anglo-Indian call for a servant.
   • 1922, Edward Frederic Benson, Miss Mapp, Chapter 1:

     That he had seen service in India was, indeed, probable by his referring to lunch as tiffin, and calling to his parlourmaid with the ejaculation of “Qui-hi.”

Noun

qui-hi (plural qui-his)

1. (India, historical, colloquial) An Anglo-Indian in Bengal.
   • 1879, Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York, page 107:

     […] would find themselves at Galle regarded as interlopers by the Bengal "qui-his," as they are called, or high and mighty Anglo-Indians.

   • 1968, Demetrius Charles de Kavanagh Boulger, Asian Review, page 134:

     The slang distinctive name for gentlemen belonging to the Bombay service; the correlative of the Mulls of Madras and the Qui-His of Bengal.

Alternative forms

• Qui-hi, Qui-Hi, Qui-hye, Qui-Hye