Indian Words in English Explained

Indian words in English, popularly known as Anglo-Indian words, form a major category among the foreign words in English Language. Most of the Indian words in English crept into the English language during the British rule of India. These Indian words reflect the cultural diversity of India and are from different languages. Indian words in English are mostly derived from Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali, and Malayalam.

Most of the Indian words in English have an etymological connection to Sanskrit. But it has to be noted that very few of the English words of Sanskrit origin have entered the English language directly. Most of them came into English from their transformed versions in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali or Marathi. English words of Hindi origin form the major category of Indian words in English even though most of them are derived from Sanskrit. Most of the English words relating to South Indian life and culture came into the English language from Tamil and Malayalam. Many of them were first adopted into Portuguese and French. From these languages they gradually entered the English language.

The following is an extensive list of Indian words in English. Search by word or language to find the meaning and etymology of Indian words in English.

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Word	Origin / Etymology	Meaning
Adda	from Bengali adda, a group of people	a place where people of same interests gather for conversation.
Ahimsa	from Sanskrit ahimsa, which means "not-harmful".
alvar	from Tamil alvarr.	sink, be absorbed (as in contemplation)
Ambarella	from Sanskrit: ambarella, a kind of tree. Entered English through Sinhalese
Amrita	from Sanskrit amrutam, nectar of everlasting life.
anaconda	possibly from Tamil yaanai kondra, "that which killed an elephant".The word may have entered English through Sinhalese henakandaya, "whipsnake".
anicut	from Tamil anaikattu, ("anai"=dam, "kattu"=building/structure)
Aniline	from Sanskrit nili. Entered English through German: Anilin, French: Aniline and Portuguese: Anil from Arabic al-nili and Persian nila,
Apadravya	from Sanskrit apadravya which refers to a male genital piercing where a barbell passes through the penis. Mentioned in Indian literature in theKama Sutra
ape	from the Tamil word for a monkey, kapi, i.e., swift, nimble, active. It was first transformed to api and later to 'ape'
arhat	from Sanskrit arhat which means "deserving".
Aryan	from Sanskrit Arya-s "noble, honorable". Entered English through Latin Ariana, from Greek Areia.
Asana	from Sanskrit asana which means "seat", a term describing yoga postures.
Ashram	from Sanskrit asrama, a religious hermitage.
Atman	from Sanskrit atman meaning "essence".

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