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Pronunciation varies by accent · noun
(India, historical, as a respectful term of address) A white European woman in colonial India..
She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible
This might be accomplished literally through missionary work (Plate 5.1), but that tended to be unattractively pro-active and spinsterish, and it was rather the memsahibs, the mothers, wives and daughters of the white officers and administrators, who were to instil civilisation, through the example of their own moral refinement.
Use memsahib when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Memsahib means (India, historical, as a respectful term of address) A white European woman in colonial India..
The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible
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