Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·South Asia ·1890s
Dekko
from dekho
- Meaning
- A look, a glance (British slang).
- Source word
- dekho
- Route into English
- Hindi *dekho* (look! imperative of *dekhna*) → English as British army slang in the 19th century → civilian British slang for a glance. Virtually unknown in American English.
- Arrived
- 1890s
From South Asia
Three centuries of British colonial contact — East India Company, Raj, military, domestic life — deposited a distinct Hindi/Urdu/Bengali/Sanskrit layer in everyday English.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.