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Hindi Much of English is made up of words from other languages, and Hindi is a contributor in this respect. Many Hindi terms are used in South Asian English; others that were once the preserve of traders and colonial settlers are familiar outside the subcontinent through emigrant communities; others are completely naturalized in English, often to the extent that any sense of their origins is lost.
In this last category are, for example, bandanna, bangle, bungalow, cushy, dinghy, loot, and shampoo, and from Hindi in transit from Sanskrit, cheetah, chit, jungle, pundit, and thug. Bandanna, for example, arrived in the mid-18th century, probably via Portuguese, from Hindi bāndhnū, a method of tie-dyeing; bungalow (late 17th) is from Hindi banglā "of Bengal" (a former province of northeastern India); cushy (early 20th), from Hindi khūsh "pleasant," is so much part of the English language that it has developed derivatives cushily and cushiness; shampoo (mid-18th) was adopted from Hindi cāpō, from cāpnā "knead, massage." Europeans trading and empire-building in South Asia not only received words from, but also gave words to, the contact languages, and in the case of veranda were given one back: Hindi-speakers took Portuguese varanda "railing, balcony" as varaṇḍā and in the early 18th century passed it on to English.
Names of flora and fauna inevitably were adopted into English, for example, chukar (a partridge that has been introduced into the western United States as a game bird), guar (a plant with seeds used for gum), krait (a poisonous snake), and mugger (a crocodile).
South Asian cuisine has had considerable impact on English: migrants include basmati rice (from Hindi bāsamatī "fragrant"), bhaji (Hindi bhāji "fried vegetables"), chapati (from Hindi capātī, from capānā "flatten"), chutney, dahl, garam masala (literally "hot spices"), jalebi, lassi, mung bean, and paratha. Dishes have been adapted and created for Western tastes: kedgeree (from Hindi khicṛī), a dish consisting of rice with flaked smoked fish and hard-boiled eggs, is of British origin.
Numerous Hindi terms for cloth and clothing have also moved into English: dungarees are made of dungaree (from Hindi dungrī "kind of coarse cloth," named after a village near Mumbai [Bombay]). Other migrants in this category include chappal, churidars, dhoti, and nainsook.
Within South Asian English, Hindi and English freely interact. English suffixes combine with Hindi forms (goondaism from goonda "ruffian, hooligan"), and Hindi suffixes combine with English (filmi, with the Hindi adjective suffix -i); Hindi and English nouns make hybrid compounds (cyber dhaba "roadside stall where people can use computers or the Internet," with dhaba a Hindi word for a roadside food stall); and Hindi terms are translated into English (good name "somebody's last name or family name," a loan translation from Hindi shubh naam).
South Asian immigrants to the Caribbean also brought some Hindi words, for example, aja "the father of somebody's father" (from Hindi daadaa), aji "the mother of somebody's father" (from Hindi daadii), and bhaigan "eggplant"; shared South Asian and Caribbean cuisine is reflected in words such as anchar and roti. And elsewhere in the world South Asian traders have left their mark on the names of currencies: in Oman the baiza (via Arabic from Hindi paisā) and in the Maldives the rufiyaa (via Divehi, a form of Sinhalese, from Hindi rūpiyā "rupee"). See also Sanskrit
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