mofussil

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English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Bengali মফস্বল (mophośśol), from Classical Persian مفصل (mufassal), from Arabic مُفَصَّل (mufaṣṣal), passive participle of فَصَّلَ (faṣṣala, to divide, classify).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mofussil (countable and uncountable, plural mofussils)

  1. (India) Originally, the regions of India outside the three East India Company capitals of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras; hence, parts of a country outside an urban centre; the regions, rural areas.
    • 1904, Herbert Compton, Indian Life in Town and Country:
      Such are the means by which the Mofussil, “up-country,” or provincial Anglo-Indian will reach his station or district, and unless he is going to Bombay or Calcutta, which are practically the two entrance doors of the Empire, with Madras for a back door, his first experience of Anglo-Indian life will be of travel; and the land journey will often prove much more trying than the sea-voyage.
    • 2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 3:
      His natural language was crass and of the mofussil, yet he could pepper it with smart turns of phrase on occasion.

Usage notes

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The term is used widely in India and Bangladesh. Although value-neutral, the word occasionally carries negative connotations when used by residents of a large metropolis, similar to "the boonies" or "the sticks" in other dialects of English.

References

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  • Indian Life in Town and Country by Herbert Compton, 1904, Chapter 13 [1]
  • Government of Andhra Pradesh: Motor Vehicles Act, 1988[2]