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).
