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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread khitmutgar #117326 12/08/03 08:53 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 W wwh OP Carpal Tunnel OP wwh Carpal Tunnel W Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 In the Sherlock Holmes story The Sign of Four, an Indian seervant is called a "khitmutgar". I had trouble finding definition. "The other important servant was the khitmutgar (bearer) who headed the presentation department. He was in charge of laying out the table immaculately. ..." Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: khitmutgar explained #117327 12/25/03 10:12 AM Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... W Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind Carpal Tunnel W Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Here's something I googled, wwh, that presents a very interesting theory about why Doyle may have used the term: "Consider Thaddeus Sholto's use of the word '"khitmugar"' to his servant. Baring-Gould's annotation accompanying this word notes that it is 'Hindu for butler or man-servant' (624). The metonym, as defined by Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin, signifies 'the part that stands for the whole....' (53). In the context of Doyle's text, and in the imperially conditioned mind of its contemporary reader, '"khitmugar"' signifies the presence and "alien" status of the Indian figure and culture in relation to British society. Openly and covertly, The Sign of Four makes itself acceptable to the imperialist ideology in late Victorian culture and its attendant literary canon. In turn, as has been noted, all these elements are offshoots which sprout from and return to nourish the ideology Said terms Orientalism. " http://www.qub.ac.uk/en/imperial/india/conan-doyle.htm Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,913 Posts229,361 Members9,182 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV 9,182 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 members (), 670 guests, and 1 robot. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 30 A C Bowden 22 LukeJavan8 3 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 10,557 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,919 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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