X
Well attestedNamed through a historical place-name

Bombay duck

noun · first attested 19th century

Bombay duck is a fish, dried and pungent, with no bird in it at all.

A lizardfish of South Asian coastal waters, usually salted and dried before cooking.

Mumbai·India

19.0758°N 72.8775°E · Q1156

Open on the atlas

Record

Relationship
Named through a historical place-name
Confidence
Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
Attested
19th century
Part of speech
noun

Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.

How it traveled
  1. Step 1

    Mumbai

  2. In English

    Bombay duck

The entry

The fish, bombil to Marathi speakers, was landed and cured around Bombay, now Mumbai, and the dried slabs traveled inland by rail. The duck half is unexplained; a popular guess ties it to the mail trains, the Bombay dak, but nothing supports it.

Also pinned to Mumbai

1 more from the same place

India

14 more words from India

All 16 entries
Nearest pins