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A sepoy (from Persian سپاهی Sipâhi meaning "soldier") was a native of India employed as a soldier in the service of a European power, usually of the United Kingdom. Specifically, it was the term used in the British Indian Army for an infantry private (a cavalry trooper was a sowar).
The same Persian word has reached English via another route in the form of Spahis.
See also
Sepoy Mutiny (also Indian Mutiny or First Indian War of Independence).
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