Where does “இந்தியா” come from?
இந்தியா (Tamil) comes from English India, from Old English Indea, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός, from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁, from Sanskrit सिन्धु, from Proto-Indo-Aryan síndʰuṣ.
Ancestry of “இந்தியா”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | India | — |
| 2 | Old English | Indea | — |
| 3 | Latin | India | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδία | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδός | an inhabitant of India or the Indian... |
| 6 | Old Persian | 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 | India; people living beyond the Indus |
| 7 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु | a river, stream; flood, waters; ocean, sea |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | síndʰuṣ | river, ocean; flow |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | síndʰuš | river, stream |
| 10 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु॑ | — |