Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Hindu” come from?

Hindu comes from Persian هندو, from Middle Persian hndwk', from Sanskrit सिन्धु, ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian síndʰuš, a word referring to a river.

Hindu (English): Of, or relating to Hinduism, or to Hindus and...

Definitions

  1. Of, or relating to Hinduism, or to Hindus and...

Ancestry of “Hindu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Persianهندوa Hindu, a practitioner of India's indigenous...
2Middle Persianhndwk'an Indian
3Middle PersianhndIndia
4Old Persian𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁India; people living beyond the Indus

Words derived from “Hindu”

  • Hinduization
  • Hinduness
  • Hinduistic
  • Hindudom
  • Hinduist
  • Hinduize
  • Hinduphobia
  • Hinduistically
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