Dabba
/ˈdʌb.ə/noun
A box or container, especially the stacked lunchbox traditionally used in South Asia.
Did you know?The word is closely associated with Mumbai’s famous dabbawalas, whose delivery system transports hundreds of thousands of homemade meals each workday.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
Hindi-Urdu
ḍabbā / डब्बा / ڈبہ
“A box, container, or receptacle”
19th Century
Hindi-Urdu
ḍabbā
“A small box or food container, including a lunch container”
Late 19th–Early 20th Century
South Asian English
dabba
“A box or lunch tin used in colonial India”
20th Century
Indian English
dabba
“A stacked lunchbox or general container”
Late 20th Century
English
dabba
“A South Asian food container or box, increasingly recognized outside India”