Definitions: 

Cultural

The Mahratta dictionary reveals the extent of the cultural challenge that faced missionaries like Carey.  It also reveals nuances of Mahratta culture as tentatively read by a Western observer. 

Some definitions reflect the nuances of culture and defy Western assumptions about avoidance of logical contradiction.  For example, according to Carey, in Mahratta the same word referred to a plant called "(Leea Macrophylla?)," "a man with large ears," and "a ringworm." 

Several words in the Mahratta dictionary display cultural or points of reference, such as "the name of the seventeenth lunar mansion." One can also detect Mahratta notions regarding disease, information on Brahmin purification rites, and the Hindu practice of rubbing ore of lead around their eyes.  The Mahratta dictionary also contains a figurative use of the term "head-ache," a slur on funeral attendants, and mention of a term for a "sour belch like rotten eggs."  Certain terms, such as Venetian blinds, seem to have universal application.

Sometimes it was necessary to use many English words to define with precision an evocative Mahratta word.  One example is "a piece of cloth held by proper assistants between two persons who are going to be married, till the moment deemed auspicious is announced by the astronomer."

Some of Carey's concerns were technical and yet formed essential ingredients of human experience. Carey's longstanding concern with plants and botanical terminology emerges often in his provision of precise definitions for plant names. He defined one plant as the "leaves of hibiscus Surrattensis, which are used as an esculent vegetable."

Created: January 11, 2002  Updated: February 5, 2002