chout
noun/t͡ʃaʊt/
Etymology Borrowed from Marathi चौथ (cauth, “one quarter”).
1
British, India, Historical An assessment equal to a quarter of the revenue, levied by the Marathas from other Indian kingdoms as compensation for being exempted from plunder.
- An officer, as collector of chout, was established on the part of the Peshwa, and another on the part of the Gaekwar princes, who, under the pretence of its affecting the revenues, and hence the Mahratta chout, interfered with every act of administration[…]1817, James Mill, The History of British India: