Indian Language Words in English

 

Indian Language Words in English

The English language, a global lingua franca, has a rich history of borrowing words from various languages across the world. Among these, Indian languages, particularly Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, and others, have contributed a significant number of terms, reflecting centuries of cultural exchange, trade, and colonial influence. These borrowed words often pertain to aspects of Indian culture, cuisine, flora and fauna, social structures, and philosophical concepts.

Historical Context of Borrowing

The influx of Indian words into English can be largely attributed to several historical periods. The British East India Company's presence in India from the 17th century onwards, followed by direct British rule, led to extensive contact between English speakers and various Indian linguistic communities.

This prolonged interaction facilitated the adoption of numerous local terms into the English lexicon. Prior to this, trade routes and earlier European encounters with India also introduced some words, though on a smaller scale. The process of borrowing was often driven by the need to describe unfamiliar concepts, objects, and practices encountered in India for which no direct English equivalent existed (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Categories of Loanwords

Indian loanwords in English can be broadly categorized based on the semantic domains they represent.

Food and Cuisine

Indian cuisine is renowned globally, and many terms related to its ingredients, dishes, and cooking methods have found their way into English. These words often describe specific spices, preparations, or types of meals.

Curry: This ubiquitous term, though its exact origin is debated, is widely associated with Indian cooking and refers to a dish of meat or vegetables cooked in a spiced sauce (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases).

Chutney: Derived from Hindi chaṭnī, it refers to a relish or condiment made from fruits, spices, and herbs (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Naan: From Persian, via Urdu, referring to a leavened, oven-baked flatbread (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Roti: A general term for flatbread, often unleavened (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases).

Papadum/Poppadom: A thin, crisp, disc-shaped food made from seasoned dough, typically lentil flour (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Samosa: A fried or baked pastry with a savoury filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, or lentils (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Kedgeree: A dish of cooked flaked fish, rice, parsley, hard-boiled eggs, and curry powder (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Pilau/Pulao: A dish in which rice is cooked in seasoned broth, often with meat or vegetables (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Ghee: Clarified butter, widely used in Indian cooking (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Masala: A mixture of ground spices used in Indian cooking (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Chapati: An unleavened flatbread, common in India and other parts of South Asia (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Biryani: A mixed rice dish, originating among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Tandoor: A cylindrical clay or metal oven used in cooking and baking (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Korma: A dish originating in the Indian subcontinent, consisting of meat or vegetables braised with yogurt, cream, or nut and seed paste (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Jalfrezi: A type of curry in which marinated meat or vegetables are stir-fried (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Vindaloo: An Indian curry dish, originally from Goa, based on the Portuguese dish carne de vinha d'alhos (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Clothing and Textiles

India's rich textile traditions have contributed several terms to English, reflecting the unique fabrics, garments, and styles.

Shawl: From Persian shāl, referring to a piece of fabric worn over the shoulders or head (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Pajamas/Pyjamas: From Hindi pāyjāma, referring to loose-fitting trousers tied at the waist, originally worn in India (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Calico: From Calicut (now Kozhikode), a city in India, referring to a plain-woven cotton fabric (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Chintz: From Hindi chīṇṭ, referring to a printed, glazed cotton fabric (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Khaki: From Urdu khākī, meaning "dust-colored," referring to a drab yellowish-brown fabric or color (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Bandanna: From Hindi bāndhnū, referring to a large, colored handkerchief, typically with a patterned design (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Sari: A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women in India (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Dhoti: A traditional garment worn by men in India, consisting of a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth wrapped around the waist and legs (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Jodhpurs: From Jodhpur, a city in India, referring to riding breeches that reach to the ankle and are tight-fitting below the knee (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Flora and Fauna

The diverse biodiversity of the Indian subcontinent has led to the adoption of local names for various plants and animals.

Jungle: From Hindi jaṅgal, referring to a dense, tangled forest or thicket (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Banyan: From Gujarati vaṇiyo, referring to a fig tree native to the Indian subcontinent, whose branches produce aerial roots that grow downwards into the soil to form additional trunks (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Mango: From Tamil māṅkāy, referring to a fleshy, oval, yellowish-red tropical fruit (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Teak: From Malayalam tēkka, referring to a large tropical tree yielding a strong, durable timber (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Jackal: From Persian shaghāl, via Turkish and French, referring to a slender, long-legged wild dog (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Pundit: From Sanskrit paṇḍita, meaning "learned," referring to an expert in a particular subject or field (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Mongoose: From Marathi muṅgūs, referring to a carnivorous mammal native to Africa and Asia (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Cobra: From Portuguese, ultimately from Sanskrit kāpila, referring to a venomous snake (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Cheetah: From Hindi cītā, referring to a large spotted cat known for its speed (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Shampoo: From Hindi cāmpō, meaning "to press, knead," referring to a liquid preparation for washing the hair (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Social and Political Terms

The British colonial administration and subsequent interactions led to the adoption of terms describing Indian social structures, administrative roles, and political concepts.

Raj: From Hindi rāj, meaning "rule" or "kingdom," referring to British rule in India (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Maharaja: From Sanskrit mahārāja, meaning "great king," referring to an Indian prince or ruler (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Raja: From Sanskrit rājan, meaning "king," referring to an Indian prince or chief (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Nabob: From Arabic nawwāb, via Urdu, referring to a provincial governor in the Mughal Empire, later used for a wealthy person (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Sepoy: From Persian sipāhī, meaning "soldier," referring to an Indian soldier serving under British or other European orders (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Thug: From Hindi thag, referring to a member of an organization of professional robbers and murderers in India, later a violent person (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Loot: From Hindi lūṭ, meaning "plunder," referring to goods stolen or taken by force (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Bungalow: From Gujarati baṅglo, referring to a low house, typically with a single story (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Veranda/Verandah: From Portuguese, ultimately from Sanskrit varaṇḍa, referring to a roofed open-air gallery or porch attached to the exterior of a building (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Coolie: From Hindi kulī, referring to an unskilled native laborer in India, China, and some other Asian countries (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Caste: From Portuguese casta, meaning "race, lineage," referring to a system of social stratification in India (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Juggernaut: From Sanskrit jagannātha, meaning "lord of the world," referring to a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Pundit: From Sanskrit paṇḍita, meaning "learned," referring to an expert in a particular subject or field (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Guru: From Sanskrit guru, meaning "teacher, venerable," referring to a spiritual teacher, especially in Hinduism (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Karma: From Sanskrit karman, meaning "action, deed," referring to the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Yoga: From Sanskrit yoga, meaning "union," referring to a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Avatar: From Sanskrit avatāra, meaning "descent," referring to the incarnation of a deity in earthly form (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Nirvana: From Sanskrit nirvāṇa, meaning "extinction," referring to a transcendent state in Buddhism in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Mantra: From Sanskrit mantra, meaning "sacred counsel, text," referring to a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Zen: From Japanese, ultimately from Sanskrit dhyāna, referring to a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Dinghy: From Hindi ḍiṅgī, referring to a small boat, especially an inflatable rubber boat (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Cot: From Hindi khāṭ, referring to a light portable bed (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Blighty: From Urdu vilāyatī, meaning "foreign, European," used by British soldiers in India to refer to Britain (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Chit: From Hindi ciṭṭhī, referring to a short official note, memorandum, or voucher (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Decoction: While not directly from an Indian language, the practice of making decoctions is prevalent in Ayurvedic medicine, and the term is often associated with traditional Indian herbal preparations. The word itself is from Latin decoquere (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Jute: From Bengali jhuṭo, referring to a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Lac: From Hindi lākh, referring to a resinous substance secreted by scale insects, used to make shellac (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Mulligatawny: From Tamil miḷaku-taṇṇīr, meaning "pepper water," referring to a spicy soup, originally from South India (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Palanquin: From Odia pālaṅkī, referring to a covered litter for one passenger, consisting of a large box carried on two horizontal poles by four or six bearers (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Pariah: From Tamil paṟaiyan, referring to a member of a low caste in southern India, later an outcast (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Punch (drink): From Hindi pāñc, meaning "five," referring to a drink made with five ingredients (alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and spice) (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Rattan: From Malay rotan, referring to the climbing palm with long, tough stems, used for wickerwork (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Shagreen: From Turkish sağrı, referring to a type of untanned leather with a rough, granular surface, originally made from the hide of a horse or camel (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Sugar: From Sanskrit śarkarā, via Arabic and Old French, referring to a sweet crystalline substance obtained from various plants (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Tiffin: From Anglo-Indian, perhaps from "tiffing" (light meal), referring to a light meal, especially lunch (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Tycoon: From Japanese taikun, ultimately from Chinese dà jūn, meaning "great prince," referring to a wealthy, powerful person in business or industry (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). While not directly Indian, its usage in English often has an East Asian context, and the concept of powerful figures is present in Indian languages.

Wadi: From Arabic wādī, referring to a valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season (The Oxford English Dictionary). While Arabic, it is a geographical feature found in regions with historical ties to India.

Philosophical and Religious Concepts

Many terms related to Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Indian philosophical traditions have been adopted into English, reflecting the global interest in these spiritual systems.

Ahimsa: From Sanskrit ahiṃsā, meaning "non-injury," referring to the principle of non-violence toward all living things (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Ashram: From Sanskrit āśrama, referring to a hermitage, monastic community, or other place of religious retreat in Hinduism (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Bodhisattva: From Sanskrit bodhisattva, referring to a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Chakra: From Sanskrit cakra, meaning "wheel," referring to each of the seven centers of spiritual power in the human body (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Dharma: From Sanskrit dharma, referring to the eternal and inherent nature of reality, regarded in Hinduism as a cosmic law underlying right behavior and social order (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Ghat: From Hindi ghāṭ, referring to a flight of steps leading down to a river, especially in India (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Jainism: From Sanskrit jaina, referring to an ancient religion of India, prescribing a path of non-violence towards all living beings (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Maya: From Sanskrit māyā, referring to the supernatural power wielded by gods and demons in the Vedic religion, later illusion or magic (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Moksha: From Sanskrit mokṣa, referring to release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Prakriti: From Sanskrit prakṛti, referring to the primordial matter or substance of the universe in Hindu philosophy (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Samsara: From Sanskrit saṃsāra, referring to the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Sanskrit: From Sanskrit saṃskṛta, meaning "perfected, refined," referring to an ancient Indo-Aryan language in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Satyagraha: From Sanskrit satyāgraha, meaning "insistence on truth," referring to a policy of passive political resistance, especially that advocated by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule in India (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Stupa: From Sanskrit stūpa, referring to a dome-shaped structure erected as a Buddhist shrine (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Tantra: From Sanskrit tantra, referring to a Hindu or Buddhist mystical or ritual text, dating from the 6th to the 13th centuries (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Veda: From Sanskrit veda, meaning "knowledge," referring to the most ancient Hindu scriptures (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Yogi: From Sanskrit yogin, referring to a person who practices yoga (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Miscellaneous Terms

Other words have entered English from Indian languages, covering a wide array of concepts.

Bangle: From Hindi baṅglī, referring to a rigid ornamental bracelet or anklet (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Catamaran: From Tamil kaṭṭumaram, meaning "tied wood," referring to a multi-hulled boat (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Chit: From Hindi ciṭṭhī, referring to a short official note, memorandum, or voucher (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Cowrie: From Hindi kaurī, referring to a marine mollusk with a glossy, often brightly patterned shell (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Dacoit: From Hindi ḍakait, referring to a member of a class of armed robbers in India and Burma (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Ganja: From Hindi gāñjā, referring to cannabis, especially as used for smoking (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Khansamah: From Persian khānsāmān, meaning "master of the house," referring to a male head servant or cook in India (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Mogul: From Persian mughul, referring to a member of the Muslim dynasty of Mongol origin that ruled much of northern India from the 16th to the mid-19th century, later a powerful person (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Nautch: From Hindi nāc, meaning "dance," referring to an entertainment in India consisting of dancing by professional dancing girls (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Pukka: From Hindi pakkā, meaning "cooked, ripe, solid," referring to genuine, authentic, or first-class (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Rhubarb: From Greek rha barbaron, meaning "foreign rhubarb," referring to a plant of the dock family, with large leaves and thick, edible leaf stalks (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). While its ultimate origin is not Indian, it was historically traded through regions connected to India.

Shroff: From Arabic ṣarrāf, via Hindi, referring to a banker or money changer in India and China (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Toddy: From Hindi tāṛī, referring to a drink made from the sap of certain palms, especially the coconut palm (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Tonga: From Hindi toṅgā, referring to a light two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle used in India (The Oxford English Dictionary).

Wallah: From Hindi vālā, meaning "fellow, person," used as a suffix to denote a person associated with a particular thing or occupation (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

This extensive list demonstrates the profound and multifaceted impact of Indian languages on the English lexicon, enriching it with terms that reflect a shared history and ongoing cultural exchange.

Credible References Sources:

1. Murray, James A. H., et al., editors. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed., Clarendon Press, 1989. (Print, Dictionary)
2. Yule, Henry, and A. C. Burnell. Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases. New ed., edited by William Crooke, Rupa & Co., 1990. (Print, Reference Publication)
3. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. (Print, Dictionary)
4. Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2019. (Print, Encyclopedia)
5. McArthur, Tom, editor. The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press, 1992. (Print, Reference Publication)