Scribe of wisdom

English words having origin in Indian Sub Continent – 1

Here goes some commonly used words in English which is adopted from languages used in Indian Subcontinent.

Shampoo from Champo The first known mention of shampoo is from the 4th century B.C., when Greek historian Strabo wrote about India’s practice of shampooing. The word is from the Hindi word champo, meaning to massage or knead

Jungle from Jangala Many still belive that Jangal in Hindi is Indian version of English world Jungle. Well, it’s the otherway round. The word jungle comes from the Sanskrit jangala meaning sparsely grown, arid. This Sanskrit word was the origin for the Hindi ‘jangal’ meaning ‘uncultivated ground’ which is likely how the English word came to hold its current meaning as an overgrown, dense forest

Candy from Khanda The word candy comes from ancient Indian Sanskrit Khanda means a piece of sugar. Years later, the Arabic version moved one step closer with qandi / Persian version qand (meaning crystallised sugar)

Bangle from Bungri / Bangli Bangle is derived from Hindi bangri / Bangli (glass / glass bracelet). Firozabad in India is considered to be largest producer of Bangles in the world.

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