Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Indian Words in English

Some Indian borrowings are listed below:

Philosophical and Learned Terms
Aryan - A member of the people who spoke the parent language of the Indo-European languages. In Nazism, a Caucasian Gentile, especially Nordic type.
Of or relating to Indo-Iranian languages.
Sanskrit arya - noble
chakra - One of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy.
Sanskrit chakram - wheel, circle
dharma - A Buddhist principle and ultimate truth. Social custom and right behavior. Hindu moral law.
Hindi dharma, from Sanskrit
Guru - A teacher and a guide in spiritual and philosophical matters. A mentor. A recognized leader in a field. "Fitness Guru"
Hindi/Punjab - guru (teacher), from Sanskrit guruh -weighty, heavy, grave
Juggernaut - Something, such as a belief or an institution, that elicits blind and destructive devotion or to which people are ruthlessly sacrificed.
An overwhelming, advancing force that crushes or seem to crush everything in its path.
The name of the Hindu deity Krishna - Juggernath
Hindi Jaganath - Lord Krishna, from Sanskrit jaganatha : jagath -moving/the world + nathah - Lord/God
Mandala - Any of various ritualistic geometric designs symbolic of the universe, used in Hinduism and Buddhism, as an aid to meditation.
Tamil mutalai - ball, from Sanskrit mandalam - circle
Nirvana - In Buddhism, the ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion. A transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire now sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma. It represents the final goal in Buddhism.
A state of perfect happiness.
From Sanskrit nirvana, nirva -be extinguished + nis -out + va - to blow
Pariah - A social outcast. An Untouchable.
Tamil pariah - caste name which means 'hereditary drummer'. The caste system in India placed pariahs or untouchables very low in society. First recorded in English in 1613.
Pundit - A learned person. A source of opinion. A critic. "a political pundit"
Hindi pandit - a learned man, from Sanskrit panditah - learned scholar, perhaps from Dravidian origin.
Purdah - A curtain or screen, used mainly in India to keep women separated from men or strangers. The Hindu or Muslim system of sex segregation, practiced especially by women in seclusion.
Social seclusion: 'artists living in luxurious purdah'
Urdu/Persian paradah - veil, curtain. pan-around, over + da- to place
Sati (suttee) - the former Hindu practice of a widow immolating herself on her husbands funeral pyre.
Hindi sati, from Sanskrit meaning 'faithful wife'
This practice was banned in India in the early 20th century, when the British ruled over India. However it continues even today, in under developed states and rural villages, such as Bihar (a state in North India)
Sutra - a rule or aphorism in Sanskrit literature or a set of these grammar or Hindu law or philosophy.
In Buddhism - A scriptural narrative, especially a text traditionally regarded as a discourse of the Buddha.
Sanskrit - sutram, tread, string
Kamasutra - A Sanskrit treatise setting forth rules for sexual, sensuous and sensual love, and marriage: in accordance with Hindu law, made popular today by Western marital therapists and psychologists.
Sanskrit - Kamasutram: kamah - love, sutram - thread, string, manual
Swastika - The emblem of the Nazi Germany, officially adopted in 1935. In Buddhism and Hinduism, a religious symbol representing noble qualities and good luck.
An ancient cosmic symbol formed by a Greek cross with ends of the arms bent at right angles either clockwise or a counterclockwise direction.
Sanskrit svastika - sign of good luck: Svast - well being
Yoga - A Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which includes breath control, simple meditation and the adoption of specific body postures widely practiced for relaxation.
Sanskrit, literally meaning 'union', referring to the union of the mind, body and spirit.

Clothes, Clothing and Fashion
Bandana (bandanna) - A large handkerchief usually figured and brightly colored.
Portuguese from, Hindi bandhunu (tie dyeing) and bandhana (to tie): from Sanskrit bhandhana tying.
This word was probably absorbed to Portuguese, when the Portuguese ruled over Goa, Bombay during the early part of the 17th century, and from Portuguese was absorbed to English.
Bindi - A dot marked on the forehead, by Hindu wives, and sometimes men, to adorn or as a sign of the third eye - wisdom or God Shiva.
From Hindi bindi. Made famous in the West by pop music singers.
Bangle - A rigid bracelet or anklet, especially one with no clasp. An ornament that hangs from a bracelet or necklace.
Hindi bungri - glass
Cashmere - Fine downy wool growing in the outer hair of the cashmere goat. A soft fabric made out of this wool or similar fibres. Named after the state of Kashmir in India, where these goats were found in abundance, and famous for woolen clothing during the British Raj.
Chintz - A printed and glazed cotton fabric, usually of bright colors.
Cotton cloth, especially plain white or unbleached.
Hindi chint, from Sanskrit citra - shiny, variegated
Cummerbund - A broad sash, especially one that is pleated lengthwise & worn as an article of formal dress, as with dinner jacket.
Hindi & Urdu - kamarband, from Persian kamar- waist + bandi- band
The sash was formally worn in the Indian subcontinent by domestic workers and low status office workers.
Dhoti - A loincloth worn by Hindu men in India. The cotton fabric used for such loincloths.
From Hindi dhoti
Dungaree - A sturdy, often blue, denim fabric. Trousers or overalls made of sturdy denim fabric.
Hindi dumgri - hard/coarse.
Gunny - A coarse, heavy fabric made of jute or hemp, used especially for bags or sacks.
Hindi ghoni - sack, from Sanskrit gharati-sack
Jute - Either of 2 plants yielding a fiber used for sacking and cordage.
Bengali jhuto, from Sanskrit jutah - twisted hair, probably of Dravidian origin.
Jodhpurs - Long riding breeches, tight from the knee to ankle, named after the ancient city, Jodhpur in the state of Rajasthan in North India. Men in this state wear trousers akin to riding breeches, hence the name 'jodhpurs'.
Khaki - A light olive brown to moderate or light yellowish brown. A sturdy cloth of this color. Khakis - trousers made from this cloth.
Urdu khaki - dusty or dust colored, from Persian khak - dust
Musk- A strong smelling reddish brown substance which is secreted by the male musk-deer for scent making, which is also an important ingredient in perfumery.
From Late Latin miscus, from Persian musk, from Sanskrit muska (scrotum)
Pajamas/pyjama - A lose fitting garment consisting of trousers and a jacket, worn for sleeping or lounging, often used in plural.
Hindi paijama - loose fitting trousers, from Persian pai- leg + jamah - garment
Sari - A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately run around the body, worn by women in the Indian subcontinent. It has 6 yards of material, with 1.5 yards hanging from one shoulder down to the ground, intricately woven with bright or contrasting colors.
From Hindi sari
Shampoo - A liquid preparation containing soap for washing hair.
Hindi campoo - press.

Words related to Food
Curry - A heavily spiced sauce or relish made with curry powder and eaten with rice, meat, fish or other food.
A dish seasoned with curry powder - a mixture of various spices.
Tamil - kari
Ginger - Mid E gingiveri from Old E gingifer, from Old French gingivre, from Med Latin-gingiber, from Latin zungiberi, from Greek - zingiberis from Pali singieram, from Dravidian (similar to Tamil) inciver, inci - ginger + ver- root.
Ghee - A clarified, semi-fluid butter used especially in Indian cooking
Hindi ghi, from Sanskrit gharati - sprinkles.
Kebab - Dish of small pieces of meat and/or vegetables, cooked on skewers
Urdu/Persian kabab - roasted meat.
Kedgeree - A dish of rice, fish, hard-boiled eggs, often served for breakfast. In North India kedgeree refers to a mixture of rice cooked with butter and dhal, with spices and shredded onions.
Hindi kedegree - butter rice
Mango - A fleshy yellowish-red tropical fruit, which is eaten ripe or used green for pickels. From Portuguese manga, from Malay manga, from Tamil manaky which means mango tree fruit.

Animal Names
Mongoose - Any of various Old World carnivorous mammals having agile body and a long tail and noted for the ability to seize and kill venomous snakes.
Marathi mangus, of Dravidian origin.
Anaconda - A large non-venomous arboreal snake of tropical South America that kills its prey by suffocating in its coils.
Alteration of Sinhalese henakandaya - whip snake.
Cheetah - A long-legged, swift running wild cat of Africa and Southwest Asia, having black-spotted, tawny fur and non-retractile claws.
The fastest animal on land can run for short distances at about 96kn (60 miles) per hour.
Hindi cita, from Sanskrit citrakaya - tiger/leopard: Citra- variegated + kaya - body

Miscellaneous
Bungalow - A small house or cottage usually having a single story and sometimes as additional attic story. A thatched or tiled one-story house in India surrounded by a wide veranda.
Hindi bangala, Bengali bungalow, Gujarati bangalo
Bazaar - A market consisting of a street lined with shops and stalls especially one in the Middle East. A fair or sale at which miscellaneous articles are sold, often for charitable purposes.
Italian bazaro, and Urdu bazaar, both from Persian.
Catamaran - A boat with two parallel hulls or floats, especially a light sailboat with a mast mounted on a transverse frame joining the hulls: A raft of logs or floats lashed together and propelled by a paddles or sails.
Tamil kattumaram: kattu- to tie + maram- wood flog: tied wood
Cheroot (sheroot) - A cigar with square cut ends
French cheroute, from Tamil curuttu/churuttu/shuruttu - roll of tobacco
This word would have been absorbed into the French language during the early 16th century, when French were trying to get a foot hold in South India (Hyderabad), and from French would have come into English.
Coir - Fiber from the outer husk of the coconut, used in potting compost and for making ropes and matting.
Origin from Malayalam kayaru - cord
Coolie - (coolly) Offensive. An unskilled Asian laborer
Hindi and Telegu: kuli - day laborer, perhaps from kuli - a tribe in Gujarat or Urdu kuli - slave
A person from the Indian subcontinent: a person of Indian descent (Offensive)
Dinghy - A small open boat carried as a tender, lifeboat, or pleasure craft on a larger boat" A small rowboat. An inflatable rubber life raft.
Hindi - dimgi, variant of demgi - float, raft
The 'gh' in English serves to indicate the hard 'g'
Gymkhana - Any of various meets at which contests are held to test the skill of the competitors, as in equestrian ship, gymnastics or sports car racing.
Probably alteration (influenced by gymnastics) fromHindi gend-khana - race court:
gend- ball + khana - house
Indigo - A tropical plant of the pea family, which was formerly widely cultivated as a source of dark blue dye.
The dark blue dye obtained from this plant
A color between blue and violet in the spectrum
From Portuguese indigo, via Latin, from Greek Indikon, from India, the River Iindus
Loot (n) - Valuables pillaged in time of war: spoils
Stolen goods: Goods illicitly obtained as by bribery.
Loot (v) To pillage, spoil
Hindi lut, from Sanskrit loptrum/lotrum - plunder
Palanquin (palankeen) - A covered litter carried on poles on the shoulders of two or four men, formerly used in Eastern Asia.
Portuguese - palanquim, from Javanese pelangki, from Pali pallanko, from Sanskrit paryankah - couch, bed
Polo - A game resembling hockey, played on horse back with a long handled clubs and a wooden ball. An ancient game of the East still played in upper Indus valley (extreme West of the Himalayas). Introduced first at Calcutta and a little later in Punjab and played first in England in 1871.
From Balti language (a Tibeto- Burman language) meaning ball
Teak - hard durable timbre used in shipbuilding and for making furniture. The large deciduous tree native to India and South East Asia, which yields this timber.
From Portuguese teca, from Tamil Tamil/Malayalam tekka

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