Lord Jim (57 page)

Read Lord Jim Online

Authors: Joseph Conrad

BOOK: Lord Jim
10.15Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Glossary of Foreign Words and Phrases

This glossary defines all foreign words used in the novel. Present-day Malay spellings are indicated and follow the
Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia
(Jakarta: Ministry of Education, 1988; 2nd edition, 1989).

absit omen:
(Latin) May the omens be favourable
ach:
(German) oh
ach so:
(German) I see
ah ça! par exemple:
(French) What a thing, indeed!
allez:
(French) come on
bien entendu:
(French) of course
bleibt ganz ruhig:
(German) keep quite still
campong:
(Malay, now
kampong
) hamlet or small village comprising clusters of houses and gardens
cassis à l'eau:
(French) water mixed with slightly fermented blackcurrant juice taken as a cordial
c'est bien ça:
(French) yes, quite right
Dieu merci:
(French) thank God
Donnerwetter:
(German) by thunder; literally, ‘thunder weather'
eh bien:
(French) oh, well
enfin:
(French) well
es ist ein' Idee:
(German) that's a thought
ewig:
(German) forever
Ewigkeit:
(German) ‘eternity' or ‘the everlasting'
gelungen:
(German) successfully achieved; finished
gewiss:
(German) of course
gharry:
(Hindi; later Anglo-Indian) small box-like horse- or pony-drawn carriage for hire
gharry-wallah:
(Hindi; later Anglo-Indian) a
wallah
is someone performing a task (here driving a gharry)
Gott im Himmel:
(German) good heavens (literally, ‘God in heaven')
in articulo mortis:
(Latin) at the point of death
Inchi:
(Malay, now
encik
) roughly equivalent to ‘Mr'
ja! ja!:
(German) well, well
kris:
(Malay:
keris
) dagger, sometimes of serpentine shape and ornamented
marins de l'État:
(French) naval personnel
mein Gott:
(German) my God
mon Dieu:
(French) good God
na:
(German) and so
nakhoda:
(Malay from Persian) ‘master' or ‘captain'; a shipowner or his representative in a ship and, by extension, a merchant
naturellement:
(French) of course
nicht wahr:
(German) isn't that so
pangeran:
(Malay) prince
panglima:
(Malay) general or commander
parbleu:
(French) by Jove
que diable:
(French) what the devil
rajahs:
(Malay from Hindi) local rulers or ‘kings'
sarong:
(Malay) piece of clothing made of a single piece of cloth tied at the waist and covering to above the ankle
schön:
(German) fine
schwein:
(German) ‘pig' or ‘swine'
sehen Sie:
(German) you see
serangs:
(Malay) boatswains
serviteur:
(French) your servant
solah topi:
(Hindi, later colonial English) pith helmet
soutane:
(French) cassock: the full-length black garment formerly worn by Roman Catholic priests as daily apparel
table d'hôte:
(French) fixed bill of fare or a public dining-room in a hotel
tunku:
(Malay) title of respect indicating noble rank; roughly equivalent to ‘lord'
usque ad finem:
(Latin) until the very last
verdomde:
(Dutch) ‘cursed' or ‘damned'
verfluchte:
Damned, or similar, from German
verfluchen
, to curse
was:
(German) what?
wie:
(German) how?

Other books

A Plague of Heretics by Bernard Knight
Dangerous Promises by Roberta Kray
Just Cause by Susan Page Davis
Hollow Dolls, The by Dahl, MT
The Stolen Bride by Brenda Joyce
Wolf Time (Voice of the Whirlwind) by Walter Jon Williams