Art Central
Indian Words Used in English
You probably use Indian words in English without even knowing it! Let's find out where some everyday English words really come from.
Did you know?
'Dungarees' get their name from dungaree, a thick, coarse Indian cotton cloth. The word probably comes from Dongri, a dockside village near Mumbai. Overalls made from this tough cloth are still called dungarees!
A 'catamaran' is a boat with two hulls. The word comes from the Tamil 'kattumaram', meaning 'logs bound together': tree trunks tied side by side to make a raft.
When something is easy and comfortable, English speakers call it 'cushy'. The word comes from the Hindi word 'khush', which means happy or pleasant.
Try this: Word Detective
Look up these words in a good dictionary: 'shawl', 'cot', 'bandana' and 'pundit'. Find out which language each one comes from. Then make a list of English words used in your own mother tongue, like 'bus' or 'ticket'. Which list grows longer: Indian words in English, or English words in your language?
Go further: A Dictionary Called Hobson-Jobson
In 1886, Henry Yule and Arthur Burnell published a dictionary with a funny name: Hobson-Jobson. It has more than 2,000 entries for words that travelled from Indian languages into English during British rule. Words still travel both ways! English has taken words like 'guru' and 'yoga', while many Indian languages happily use English words like 'station' and 'school'.