Etymology Explorer › Dutch

Where does “Urdu” come from?

Urdu (Dutch) comes from Classical Persian اُرْدُو, from Proto-Turkic ordu — army, camp.

Ancestry of “Urdu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Classical Persianاُرْدُو—
2Proto-Turkicorduarmy, camp
Every word from Proto-Turkic ordu →