A History of the Mahrattas v1.c26.13

v1.c26.13

¹ [The word is derived from Persian sihbandī (sih, ‘three’), and is supposed to mean ‘three-monthly, or quarterly, payment.’ It was applied to irregular native soldiery, a sort of militia or imperfectly disciplined troops for revenue or police duties. The last official appearance of the title is in the E. I. Register down to July 1869, where it is applied to ‘the Sebundy Corps of Sappers and Miners’ at Darjeeling. (Yule’s Hobson-Jobson, ed. Crooke (1903), p. 805.)]