Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Ceylonese” come from?

Ceylonese (English) comes from English Ceylon, from Portuguese Ceilão, from Old French Seilan, from Persian سیلان, from Pali sīhaḷa, from Sanskrit सिंहल, from Sanskrit सिंह, from Proto-Indo-Aryan sinźʰás.

Ceylonese (English): Of or pertaining to Ceylon; A native of Ceylon

Definitions

  1. Of or pertaining to Ceylon; A native of Ceylon

Ancestry of “Ceylonese”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishCeylonShort for Ceylon tea
2PortugueseCeilão—
3Old FrenchSeilan—
4Persianسیلان—
5PalisīhaḷaSinhalese
6Sanskritसिंहलthe island of Sri Lanka; name of a man; Sri...
7Sanskritसिंहthe lion; the zodiacal sign Leo or its lagna;...
8Proto-Indo-Aryansinźʰás—
9Proto-Indo-Iraniansinȷ́ʰáslion
10Proto-Indo-European*sinǵʰós-—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *sinǵʰós- →