sepoy

Meanings

1. A native soldier of the East Indies, employed in the service of a European colonial power, notably the British India army (first under the British-chartered East India Company, later in the crown colony), but also France and Portugal.
2. The holder of an infantry enlisted rank equivalent to private in other countries.

Etymology

From Portuguese sipae, from Urdu سِپاہی (sipāhī) / Hindi सिपाही (sipāhī), from Classical Persian سِپَاهِی (sipāhī, “soldier, horseman”), from سِپَاه (sipāh, “army”). Doublet of spahi and sipahi.