Blighty

Blighty

Blighty is a British English slang term for Britain, deriving from the Hindustani word vilāyatī (विलायती) (pronounced bilāti in many Indian dialects and languages), from Persian vilayet and ultimately from Arabic wilayah, originally meaning something like "province". In India the term came to refer to Europe, and more specifically Britain.[1]

The term was more common in the latter days of the British Raj, and is now more commonly used as a term of endearment by the expatriate British community or those on holiday to refer to home.

In their 1886 Anglo-Indian dictionary, Hobson-Jobson, Sir Henry Yule and Arthur C. Burnell explained that the word came to be used in British India for several things the British had brought into the country, such as the tomato (bilayati baingan, whose literal translation is "foreign aubergine") and soda water, which was commonly called bilayati pani ("foreign water").

During World War I, "Dear Old Blighty" was a common sentimental reference, suggesting a longing for home by soldiers in the trenches. The term was particularly used by World War I poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. During that war, a Blighty wound -- a wound serious enough to require recuperation away from the trenches but not serious enough to kill or maim the victim—was hoped for by many, and sometimes self-inflicted.[2]

The Music Hall artiste Vesta Tilley had a hit in 1916 with the song I'm Glad I've Got a Bit of a Blighty One (1916), in which she played a soldier delighted to have been wounded and in hospital. "When I think about my dugout" she sang, "where I dare not stick my mug out... I'm glad I've got a bit of a blighty one". Another Music Hall hit was "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" (1917), which was sampled at the beginning of The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths.

References


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  • Blighty — ist eine englische Slang Bezeichnung für Großbritannien. Das Wort leitet sich aus dem Hindi Wort vilāyatī (विलायती; auch bilāyatī) ab, das wiederum über das Urdu aus dem Arabischen (arabisch ‏ولاية‎ ‚Wilaya‘) entlehnt wurde. Im… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Blighty — ► NOUN Brit. informal ▪ Britain or England, as used by soldiers serving abroad. ORIGIN first used by soldiers in the Indian army: from Urdu, foreign, European …   English terms dictionary

  • blighty —    a serious but not fatal wound    Blighty, from the Hindi bilayati meaning foreign, became their home country for British servicemen abroad, and not just those serving in India:     Thought we d see a bit of the place before we go back to… …   How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

  • Blighty — noun /ˈblaɪti/ a) Great Britain, Britain, or England, especially as viewed from abroad With such delights awaiting them only a few miles to the rear, its no wonder that men prayed for a “blighty” – a small wound that would not incapacitate them… …   Wiktionary

  • Blighty — [[t]bla͟ɪti[/t]] N PROPER Blighty is a way of referring to England. [BRIT, HUMOROUS, OLD FASHIONED] See you back in Blighty! …   English dictionary

  • blighty — /bluy tee/, n., pl. blighties. Brit. Slang. 1. (often cap.) England as one s native land; England as home: We re sailing for old Blighty tomorrow. 2. a wound or furlough permitting a soldier to be sent back to England from the front. 3. military… …   Universalium

  • blighty — [20] Blighty is a legacy of British rule in India. Originally a term used by British soldiers serving in India for ‘home, Britain’, it is an anglicization of Hindi bilāyatī, which meant ‘foreign’, and particularly ‘European’. This was actually a… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • Blighty — n British Britain. An anglicisation of the Hindus tani bilayati, meaning foreign. The word was originally used with some affection by the pre World War I colonial army, but is now used only to suggest mock jingoism. ► I was blown through the door …   Contemporary slang

  • Blighty — /ˈblaɪti/ (say bluytee) noun 1. British Military Colloquial England. 2. World War I Colloquial a wound serious enough to get one sent back to England. Also, blighty. {Anglo Indian, from Hindi bilāyatī (now vilāyatī) foreign, European, from… …  

  • blighty — [20] Blighty is a legacy of British rule in India. Originally a term used by British soldiers serving in India for ‘home, Britain’, it is an anglicization of Hindi bilāyatī, which meant ‘foreign’, and particularly ‘European’. This was actually a… …   Word origins

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