Dhobies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to individuals who wash clothes, especially in a South Asian context
2. a traditional occupation in various cultures involving the laundering of garments
3. a collective noun for those skilled in the art of washing textiles and maintaining cleanliness

Etymology: "Dhobies" is the plural of "dhobie," a word for a person who washes clothes for a living. The plural form is the one most readers will meet, since the occupation is commonly described in the plural, as in a dhobie's washing place or a crowd of dhobies at a riverbank. The singular "dhobie" is itself a borrowing from Hindi, where the related word "dhobī" names the washerman caste and trade, and the English form reflects the Indian pronunciation as Anglo-Indian usage spread it. Because the word arrived through colonial-era contact in South Asia, it carries with it the image of communal laundering at open-air washing ghats, where washermen beat and rinsed cloth in water.

Synonyms: launderers, washers