sahib

Sahib is a title and honorific derived from the Persian word sahib, meaning owner, master, or possessor. It entered Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and other South Asian languages and is used to address or refer to men in a courteous or respectful way. The feminine form sahiba is used for women in some contexts.

Historically, sahib functioned as a social marker in both pre-colonial and colonial settings. In British India, Europeans were commonly referred to as the Sahib, a usage that carried associations of authority and distance. Locally, sahib was also used by servants and subordinates to address their patrons, while educated and influential men were addressed as sahib by others in formal or respectful discourse.

In contemporary usage, sahib remains common in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as a polite address to men, particularly in everyday speech, markets, and service encounters. It may appear on shop signs and in casual conversation. In some contexts it can sound archaic or carry colonial overtones, depending on tone and setting. The feminine form sahiba is still heard in formal or historical references and in phrases such as Gurdwara Sahib, where it denotes the reverent or respectful address for a sacred place or its de facto occupant.

The term is widely recognized across South Asia and in diasporic communities, reflecting historical ties between Persianate cultural influence and regional languages. It is typically used with a degree of politeness and can convey varying levels of formality depending on context.