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Harters Feb 8, 2013 03:38 AM

Translation - Urdu/English

It's been suggested to me that the word "poz" in Urdu translates to "jam". Needless to say, it's always possible that I have the Anglicised spelling wrong. Google fails to help me. Are there any Urdu speakers who can confirm, please?

For info, I am researching food terms used by the British Army in the Great War where "pozzy" is regularly used to mean jam. I know that a goodly number of army slang terms have their roots in Indian words.

  1. b
    Booklegger451 Feb 8, 2013 01:58 PM

    A little Googling around turned this up, it might be helpful if you can find a copy:

    http://www.ledburyportal.co.uk/portal...

    1 Reply
    1. re: Booklegger451
      h
      Harters Feb 8, 2013 02:09 PM

      I gather the book says it's a mystery where the word comes from - apparently not knowing its military connection. The army was certainly using the word at the time of our war in South Africa.

    2. luckyfatima Feb 8, 2013 07:17 AM

      Platt's Dictionary, a classic authority of a dictionary, tells me that poz is a word for lips/muzzle (like of an animal).

      http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3dsal?dbname=platts&query=poz&matchtype=exact&display=utf8

      The common term I know for jam or gelatinous fruit preserve is murabba.

      I also checked the Hobson-Jobson Dictionary of Anglo-Indian terms (really fun glossary if you have an interest in such things) and found neither poz nor pozzy.

      http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries...

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