durbar

American  

[dur-bahr] / ˈdɜr bɑr /

noun

1. the court of an Indian ruler.

2. a public audience or levee held by an Indian prince or by a British colonial governor or viceroy; an official reception.

3. the hall or place where an Indian prince or British colonial governor holds a public audience.

4. an audience held by an Indian prince or British colonial governor.

---

durbar British  

/ ˌdɜːˈbɑː, ˈdɜːbɑː /

noun

1. 1. (formerly) the court of a native ruler or a governor in India and British Colonial West Africa

   2. a levee at such a court

---

Etymology

Origin of durbar

First recorded in 1600–10; alteration of Urdu darbār “court,” from Persian, equivalent to dar “door” + bār “entry”

Example Sentences

Experts worked on restoring the papier mache ceiling in the university's grand durbar hall.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2023

He was dismantled and taken to the place where he attended the Delhi durbar on becoming Emperor of India in 1911.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2020

Instead of agreeing enthusiastically, as a maharajah in the 19th century would at Queen Victoria’s durbar, Modi wanted something in return.

From The Guardian • Mar. 9, 2018

In the French television serial “Rani,” the opulence of Indian royalty and of the French 18th-century aristocracy are recreated with as much pomp as Chanel’s more exclusive durbar.

From New York Times • Dec. 22, 2011

The Delhi durbar in 1903 honored Edward VII in a degree unsurpassed, but was a greater personal triumph for Viceroy Curzon and his accomplished consort from Chicago.

From East of Suez Ceylon, India, China and Japan by Penfield, Frederic Courtland