Where does “India” come from?
India derives from Old English India, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία, from Ἰνδός, ultimately from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 and Sanskrit सिन्धु referring to the Indus River.
Ancestry of “India”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | Indea | — |
| 2 | Latin | India | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδία | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδός | an inhabitant of India or the Indian... |
| 5 | Old Persian | 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 | India; people living beyond the Indus |
| 6 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु | a river, stream; flood, waters; ocean, sea |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | síndʰuṣ | river, ocean; flow |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | síndʰuš | river, stream |
| 9 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु॑ | — |
Words derived from “India”