This is a list of English-language words of
Hindi and
Urdu origin, two distinguished registers of the
Hindustani language. Many of the Hindi and Urdu equivalents have originated from
Sanskrit; see
List of English words of Sanskrit origin. Many others are of
Persian origin; see
List of English words of Persian origin. Some of the latter are in turn of
Arabic or
Turkic origin. In some cases words have entered the English language by multiple routes - occasionally ending up with different meanings, spellings, or pronunciations, just as with words with European etymologies. Many entered English during the
British Raj. These borrowings, dating back to the colonial period, are often labeled as "Anglo-Indian".
"Britain" (as a term of endearment among British troops stationed in Colonial India): from Hindi-Urdu vilāyatī (विलायती, ولايتى) "foreign", ultimately from Arabo-Persian ولايتي "provincial, regional".
Heavy denim fabric, also referring to trousers made thereof, from Hindi डूंगरी (ḍūṅgrī, “coarse calico”), first worn by labourers in the
Dongri area of
Mumbai (Bombay).
from Hindi गरम मसाला and Urdu گرم مصالحہ garam masālā, literally "hot ( = spicy) mixture",[10] from Persian گرمgarm 'warm, hot' and Arabic مصالحmaṣāliḥ 'benefits, requirements, ingredients'.
A term which originally referred to a place where sporting events take place and referred to any of various meets at which contests were held to test the skill of the competitors. In English-speaking countries, a gymkhana refers to a multi-game equestrian event performed to display the training and talents of horses and their rider [-khānā from Pers. khānāh خانه "house, dwelling"]
Full-length trousers, worn for horseback riding, that are close-fitting below the knee, flared and roomy at the thigh, and have reinforced patches on the inside of the leg. Named after Jodhpur, where similar garments are worn by Indian men as part of everyday dress.
from Jagannath (
Sanskrit: जगन्नाथjagannātha,
Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥjagannātha), a form of
Vishnu particularly worshipped at the
Jagannath Temple, Puri,
Odisha where during
Rath Yatra festival thousands of devotees pull three temple carts some 14m (45 feet) tall, weighing hundreds of tons through the streets. These carts seat three statues of the deities, meant to be two brothers and their sister for a 'stroll' outside after the ritual worship session. They are fed by thousands and thousands of worshipers with holy food, as if the icons were living. Early European visitors witnessed these festivals and returned with—possibly apocryphal—reports of religious fanatics committing suicide by throwing themselves under the wheels of the carts. So the word became a metaphor for something immense and unstoppable because of institutional or physical inertia; or impending catastrophe that is foreseeable yet virtually unavoidable because of such inertia.
from the Sanskrit word जङ्गल jaṅgala, and later jangal in Hindi as जंगल and Urdu as جنگل. Jaṅgala means "uncultivated land" which refers to the wilderness or forest.
from
Hindi खिचड़ी, Kedgeree is thought to have originated with the
Indian rice-and-bean or rice-and-lentil dish
khichri, traced back to 1340 or earlier.
(in Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism.
from
Hindi and
Urdupanch پانچ, meaning "five". The drink was originally made with five ingredients:
alcohol,
sugar,
lemon, water, and
tea or
spices.[14][15] The original drink was named paantsch.
from Hindi and Urdu रायता رائتہ rayta.[22] yogurt based dish, some add sliced/chopped/diced,
cucumbers, onions,
tomatoes,
pineapples,
pomegranate or other salads to complement rice or roti meals.
Sepoy is derived from the Persian word sepāhī (سپاہی) meaning "infantry soldier" and was designated as a rank in the Mughal Army. The title and rank were implemented by the East India Company and later the British Raj. The term continues to be used for noncommissioned ranks in the Indian and Pakistani and Nepalese militaries.
A colloquial South Asian word, it has been defined as a noun to refer to a ‘familiar form of address: friend, mate’. It is originally a loanword from Persian یار (yār). The first known use of yaar in English was in 1963.[32]
^"Purdah".
Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 May 2008. purdah, also spelled Pardah, Hindi Parda ("screen," or "veil"), practice that was inaugurated by Muslims and later adopted by various Hindus, especially in India, and that involves the seclusion of women from public observation by means of concealing clothing (including the veil) and by the use of high-walled enclosures, screens, and curtains within the home.
^Raheja, Gloria Goodwin; Gold, Ann Grodzins (29 April 1994). Listen to the Heron's Words: Reimagining Gender and Kinship in North India.
University of California Press. p. 168.
ISBN978-0-520-08371-4. The literal meaning of "purdah" is, as already noted, "a curtain." In rural Rajasthan for a woman to observe purdah (in Hindi, pardā rakhnā, "to keep purdah"; pardā karnā, "to do purdah") usually includes these behavioral components, adhered to with highly varying degrees of strictness: in her marital village she doesn't leave the house, and she veils her face in front of all strangers and certain categories of male kin.
^Strulik, Stefanie (2014). Politics Embedded: Women's Quota and Local Democracy. Negotiating Gender Relations in North India.
LIT Verlag Münster. p. 50.
ISBN978-3-643-80163-0. Purdah in Urdu/Hindi ltierally means "curtain". Today, in Hindi it is used for both: in the literal sense for curtain and to refer to a system of seclusion and concealment of the body in the name of "respect" towards (male) elder (fictive and blood-related) family members and is construed as fundamental to maintaining family "honour".
^Doane, Mary Ann (18 October 2021). Bigger Than Life: The Close-Up and Scale in the Cinema.
Duke University Press. p. 51.
ISBN978-1-4780-2178-0. In this respect, it is very interesting to note that the term "purdah," designating the veil worn over a woman's face in certain Islamic societies, is derived from the Hindi and Urdu "parda," meaning "screen," "curtain," or "veil."
^"Purdah".
Lehigh University. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2022. (Hindustani) Seclusion. "Purdah" literally means curtain or veil. In the Indian context it referred to women kept secluded from public life.
This is a list of English-language words of
Hindi and
Urdu origin, two distinguished registers of the
Hindustani language. Many of the Hindi and Urdu equivalents have originated from
Sanskrit; see
List of English words of Sanskrit origin. Many others are of
Persian origin; see
List of English words of Persian origin. Some of the latter are in turn of
Arabic or
Turkic origin. In some cases words have entered the English language by multiple routes - occasionally ending up with different meanings, spellings, or pronunciations, just as with words with European etymologies. Many entered English during the
British Raj. These borrowings, dating back to the colonial period, are often labeled as "Anglo-Indian".
"Britain" (as a term of endearment among British troops stationed in Colonial India): from Hindi-Urdu vilāyatī (विलायती, ولايتى) "foreign", ultimately from Arabo-Persian ولايتي "provincial, regional".
Heavy denim fabric, also referring to trousers made thereof, from Hindi डूंगरी (ḍūṅgrī, “coarse calico”), first worn by labourers in the
Dongri area of
Mumbai (Bombay).
from Hindi गरम मसाला and Urdu گرم مصالحہ garam masālā, literally "hot ( = spicy) mixture",[10] from Persian گرمgarm 'warm, hot' and Arabic مصالحmaṣāliḥ 'benefits, requirements, ingredients'.
A term which originally referred to a place where sporting events take place and referred to any of various meets at which contests were held to test the skill of the competitors. In English-speaking countries, a gymkhana refers to a multi-game equestrian event performed to display the training and talents of horses and their rider [-khānā from Pers. khānāh خانه "house, dwelling"]
Full-length trousers, worn for horseback riding, that are close-fitting below the knee, flared and roomy at the thigh, and have reinforced patches on the inside of the leg. Named after Jodhpur, where similar garments are worn by Indian men as part of everyday dress.
from Jagannath (
Sanskrit: जगन्नाथjagannātha,
Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥjagannātha), a form of
Vishnu particularly worshipped at the
Jagannath Temple, Puri,
Odisha where during
Rath Yatra festival thousands of devotees pull three temple carts some 14m (45 feet) tall, weighing hundreds of tons through the streets. These carts seat three statues of the deities, meant to be two brothers and their sister for a 'stroll' outside after the ritual worship session. They are fed by thousands and thousands of worshipers with holy food, as if the icons were living. Early European visitors witnessed these festivals and returned with—possibly apocryphal—reports of religious fanatics committing suicide by throwing themselves under the wheels of the carts. So the word became a metaphor for something immense and unstoppable because of institutional or physical inertia; or impending catastrophe that is foreseeable yet virtually unavoidable because of such inertia.
from the Sanskrit word जङ्गल jaṅgala, and later jangal in Hindi as जंगल and Urdu as جنگل. Jaṅgala means "uncultivated land" which refers to the wilderness or forest.
from
Hindi खिचड़ी, Kedgeree is thought to have originated with the
Indian rice-and-bean or rice-and-lentil dish
khichri, traced back to 1340 or earlier.
(in Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism.
from
Hindi and
Urdupanch پانچ, meaning "five". The drink was originally made with five ingredients:
alcohol,
sugar,
lemon, water, and
tea or
spices.[14][15] The original drink was named paantsch.
from Hindi and Urdu रायता رائتہ rayta.[22] yogurt based dish, some add sliced/chopped/diced,
cucumbers, onions,
tomatoes,
pineapples,
pomegranate or other salads to complement rice or roti meals.
Sepoy is derived from the Persian word sepāhī (سپاہی) meaning "infantry soldier" and was designated as a rank in the Mughal Army. The title and rank were implemented by the East India Company and later the British Raj. The term continues to be used for noncommissioned ranks in the Indian and Pakistani and Nepalese militaries.
A colloquial South Asian word, it has been defined as a noun to refer to a ‘familiar form of address: friend, mate’. It is originally a loanword from Persian یار (yār). The first known use of yaar in English was in 1963.[32]
^"Purdah".
Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 May 2008. purdah, also spelled Pardah, Hindi Parda ("screen," or "veil"), practice that was inaugurated by Muslims and later adopted by various Hindus, especially in India, and that involves the seclusion of women from public observation by means of concealing clothing (including the veil) and by the use of high-walled enclosures, screens, and curtains within the home.
^Raheja, Gloria Goodwin; Gold, Ann Grodzins (29 April 1994). Listen to the Heron's Words: Reimagining Gender and Kinship in North India.
University of California Press. p. 168.
ISBN978-0-520-08371-4. The literal meaning of "purdah" is, as already noted, "a curtain." In rural Rajasthan for a woman to observe purdah (in Hindi, pardā rakhnā, "to keep purdah"; pardā karnā, "to do purdah") usually includes these behavioral components, adhered to with highly varying degrees of strictness: in her marital village she doesn't leave the house, and she veils her face in front of all strangers and certain categories of male kin.
^Strulik, Stefanie (2014). Politics Embedded: Women's Quota and Local Democracy. Negotiating Gender Relations in North India.
LIT Verlag Münster. p. 50.
ISBN978-3-643-80163-0. Purdah in Urdu/Hindi ltierally means "curtain". Today, in Hindi it is used for both: in the literal sense for curtain and to refer to a system of seclusion and concealment of the body in the name of "respect" towards (male) elder (fictive and blood-related) family members and is construed as fundamental to maintaining family "honour".
^Doane, Mary Ann (18 October 2021). Bigger Than Life: The Close-Up and Scale in the Cinema.
Duke University Press. p. 51.
ISBN978-1-4780-2178-0. In this respect, it is very interesting to note that the term "purdah," designating the veil worn over a woman's face in certain Islamic societies, is derived from the Hindi and Urdu "parda," meaning "screen," "curtain," or "veil."
^"Purdah".
Lehigh University. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2022. (Hindustani) Seclusion. "Purdah" literally means curtain or veil. In the Indian context it referred to women kept secluded from public life.