An Anglo-Indian term for a merchant, trader, or moneylender from the Bania or Baniya community — a Hindu trading and mercantile caste. In colonial Indian usage it often referred to any petty trader or shopkeeper, sometimes with a slightly dismissive connotation. The word appears frequently in colonial-era accounts of Indian commerce.
The regiment's supplies were all arranged through a local bunniah who kept meticulous accounts.
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(India) banker; moneylender.
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(India) merchant; petty trader.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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