2007-11-01 04:57:35 · 0 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
According to The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
"Blighty an informal and often affectionate term for Britain or England, chiefly as used by soldiers of the First and Second World Wars (in the First World War, a wound which was sufficiently serious to merit being shipped home to Britain was known as a Blighty).
The term was first used by soldiers serving in India, and is an Anglo-Indian alteration of Urdu bilyat ‘foreign, European’, from Arabic wilyat, wilya ‘dominion, district’."
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2007-11-01 05:51:17 · answer #1 · answered by Enquire L 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
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RE:
Why is Britain sometimes called Blighty??????
2015-08-19 01:51:45 · answer #2 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It comes from the Indian word `bilati` meaning a kingdom or ministry, during the days of the British Raj. It was then adapted as a common slang word of endearment for Britain by British troops in the trenches during WW1.
2007-11-01 05:48:08 · answer #3 · answered by *~STEVIE~* *~B~* 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that the Indians used the word Belait when referring to Europe.
The troops of the British Raj converted this to Blighty.
2007-11-01 05:01:04 · answer #4 · answered by Canute 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Canute has more or less nailed it but 'Blighty' comes from the Hindustani phrase 'bila yati', meaning foreign person.
2007-11-01 05:41:16 · answer #5 · answered by del_icious_manager 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋