Language/Hindi/Vocabulary/Hindi-loan-words-in-English

Hindi loan words in English

Languages don’t just travel on one-way streets: During the time of the British Raj, the British colonial period in India, the foreign rulers imported many words from Indian languages. Some were corrupted beyond recognition, but “something is better than nothing”, as the Indians say. Here are a few of the most common words taken from Hindi:

• Bandanna (from bāndhnā, to bind)
• Bungalow (from baṅglā, a one-storeyed house)
• Cha (from cāy, tea; the basis of the quaint old Briticism “Fancy a cuppa cha, my dear?”)
• Curry (from kaṛhī, a spicy sauce or soup)
• Dacoit (from ḍākū, robber)
• Juggernaut (from Jagannāth, another name for God Vishnu)
• Jungle (from jaṅgal, a thick forest or wasteland)
• Maharaja (from mahārājā, great king)
• Mahout (from mahāvaṭ, a keeper or driver of elephants)
• Pyjamas (from pājāmā, a kind of loose cotton pants)
• Punch (the drink), from pāñc (five), since the original beverage was concocted from five ingredients
• Shampoo (from campī, a head massage, and cāmpnā, to massage)
• Thug (from ṭhag, deceiver; also the word for a member of a murderous cult called ṭhagī, whose adherents roamed the Indian countryside and robbed and killed travelers in the name of Goddess Kali.)
• To loot (from lūṭnā, to rob, plunder)
• Verandah (from baraṇḍā)

Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Portuguese Loan Words in Hindi, Animal Sounds, Tongue twisters & City.

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