| aarti | worship |
| ahimsa | nonviolence |
| akannaborti | literally, "sharing the same food," euphemism for joint family |
| aphin ka satta | opium betting |
| arkati | labor recruiter |
| badmash | crook, bad guy |
| baksheesh | tip, bribe |
| bangla | Bengali language |
| baniya | intermediary trader, mercantile community |
| barsat ka satta | rain gambling |
| batpuria | thief |
| basa | charitable kitchen |
| bhadralok | English-educated professional Bengali middle-class |
| bhakti | personalized devotional worship |
| bhejal | adulterated, to mix with impure things |
| bindi | ornamental dot worn on forehead |
| Birla | name of prominent Marwari family |
| Burabazar | The Big Bazar |
| Burobazar | Old Lord Shiva's Bazar |
| bustee | slum |
| chabutra | shrine platform |
| chappan bhog | fifty-six course meal |
| chettiar | caste cluster of trading groups in South India |
| chowkidar | caretaker, guard |
| chunari | wedding veil |
| darshan | divine viewing, being in the presence of god |
| Dayabhaga | legal system in which property is divided equally among sons |
| dharmasala | charitable resthouse for pilgrim or traveler |
| dhoti | loose-fitting loincloth for men |
| gaddi | cushion, euphemism for office |
| garbagriha | main temple image |
| ghee | clarified butter |
| godown | warehouse, storage |
| haveli | Rajput or Marwari mansion and ancestral home |
| hundi | bill of credit |
| jaffrey | lattice work |
| Jagat Seth | Banker of the World |
| jati | origin, birth, caste, community |
| jhilmil | wooden blinds |
| johar | spontaneous immolation |
| jota sowda | gambling on the price of jute |
| kacca | unprepared food |
| kalash | earthenware or metal pitcher, symbolizing fertility |
| kambal | blanket |
| kapus ka satta | cotton and cloth gambling |
| korbani | sacrifice, cow killing |
| kothal | treasure |
| kul | lineage |
| kuldeepak | light of the lineage |
| kuldevi | lineage goddess |
| lota | water pot |
| mahatsov | great festival |
| mardana | men's quarters, male space |
| maru | desert |
| Marwar | mythical homeland of the Marwaris |
| Marwari | migrant trader from Rajasthan, or language spoken in Rajasthan |
| mel | circle of appropriate marriage partners |
| mela | fair, festival |
| Mitakshara | legal system of primogeniture found in Northern India |
| mofussil | countryside stations and outlying districts |
| mori | drain |
| pahar | three-hour period of time |
| pakka | fully cooked food |
| parda | veil, euphemism for seclusion of women |
| pardanashin | secluded women |
| parta | Marwari accounting system |
| pash balish | bolster pillow |
| pativrata | women's vow, fasting for the well-being of the husband |
| pinjrapole | literally, "caged courtyard" for cow keeping |
| puja | worship |
| rui | cotton |
| sahib | Englishman |
| sala | brother-in-law, son of a bitch |
| salwaar kameez | long tunic worn over loose-fitting pants |
| samaj | association |
| sari | a draped five-yard-long cloth for women's apparel |
| satta | commodity-figure gambling |
| sati | widow immolation |
| satimata | deification of sati |
| shaharwale | resident of or hailing from Murshidabad, Bengal |
| shakti | goddess of strength |
| shroff | traditional banker |
| tezimandi | "rise-fall," euphemism for numbers gambling |
| thali | flat plate made of steel or silver |
| tibba | sand dune |
| trishul | Shiva's trident |
| vahi | account books |
| Vaishya | a varna traditional trading castes |
| yagna | public fair organized around vedic sacrificial rituals |
| zenana | women's quarters, female space |
