*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of India

Etymology tree the BMAC substratebor.? Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš ▲ Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš Sanskrit सिन्धु॑ (síndhu)bor. Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš)bor. Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Prot

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A country in South Asia. Official name: Republic of India. Capital: New Delhi. · A region of South Asia, traditionally delimited by the Himalayas and the Indus river; the Indian subcontinent. · A territory of the British Empire, chiefly comprising the modern day countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Burma. · A female given name.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree the BMAC substratebor.? Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš ▲ Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš Sanskrit सिन्धु॑ (síndhu)bor. Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš)bor. Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía)bor. Latin Indiabor. Old English Indea English India Inherited from Old English India, Indea, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía), from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós, “Indus river”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš), from Sanskrit सिन्धु (sindhu), ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš (“river”). Compare Middle English Inde and Ynde from Old French Ynde (original form started to prevail in the 16th century), Classical Persian هند (hind, “India”), Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu, “a river, stream”). Doublet of Indus, Sindhu, Hindu, and Sindh.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "ang:Indea",
        "id": "country",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nthe BMAC substratebor.?\nProto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš\n▲\nProto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš\nSanskrit सिन्धु॑ (síndhu)bor.\nOld Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš)bor.\nAncient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós)\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂\nProto-Hellenic *-íā\nAncient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)\nAncient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía)bor.\nLatin Indiabor.\nOld English Indea\nEnglish India\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"region\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"India\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"Indus\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"India\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"river\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"the BMAC substrate\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"qsb-bma\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-Iranian\", \"term\" : \"*síndʰuš\", \"gloss\" : \"river; stream\", \"lang\" : \"iir-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"river\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"river\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"iir-pro\", \"2\" : \":bor<unc>\", \"3\" : \"qsb-bma:-\", \"id\" : \"river\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-Iranian\", \"term\" : \"*síndʰuš\", \"lang\" : \"iir-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Sanskrit\", \"term\" : \"सिन्धु॑\", \"gloss\" : \"river; stream\", \"lang\" : \"sa\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"transliteration\" : \"hi<sup>n<\\/sup>dūš\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old Persian\", \"term\" : \"𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁\", \"lang\" : \"peo\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"Ἰνδός\", \"gloss\" : \"the Indus river\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-i-eh₂\", \"id\" : \"i-extension\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"o-grade\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éh₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éh₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*-íā\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-ῐ́ᾱ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"Ἰνδία\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"India\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"Indea\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"India\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"country\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"India\" id=\"English:_country\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "India",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Old English India"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "India"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Old English India"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "India"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin India"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Ἰνδία"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Ἰνδός",
        "t": "Indus river"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós, “Indus river”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "peo",
        "3": "𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁",
        "tr": "hiⁿdūš"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa",
        "3": "सिन्धु"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit सिन्धु (sindhu)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "iir-pro",
        "3": "*síndʰuš",
        "t": "river"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš (“river”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "Inde"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English Inde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fro",
        "2": "Ynde"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French Ynde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fa-cls",
        "2": "هند",
        "tr": "hind",
        "t": "India"
      },
      "expansion": "Classical Persian هند (hind, “India”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "सिन्धु",
        "tr": "síndhu",
        "t": "a river, stream"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu, “a river, stream”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Indus",
        "3": "Sindhu",
        "4": "Hindu",
        "5": "Sindh"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Indus, Sindhu, Hindu, and Sindh"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "ang:Indea",
        "id": "country",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nthe BMAC substratebor.?\nProto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš\n▲\nProto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš\nSanskrit सिन्धु॑ (síndhu)bor.\nOld Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš)bor.\nAncient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós)\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂\nProto-Hellenic *-íā\nAncient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)\nAncient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía)bor.\nLatin Indiabor.\nOld English Indea\nEnglish India"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*síndʰuš",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/síndʰuš#Proto-Indo-Iranian:_river"
    ],
    [
      "*síndʰuš",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/síndʰuš#Proto-Indo-Iranian:_river"
    ],
    [
      "सिन्धु॑",
      "सिन्धु#Sanskrit:_river"
    ],
    [
      "𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁",
      "𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁#Old_Persian:_India"
    ],
    [
      "Ἰνδός",
      "Ἰνδός#Ancient_Greek:_Indus"
    ],
    [
      "*-h₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-h₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
    ],
    [
      "*-éh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-éh₂#Proto-Indo-European:_o-grade"
    ],
    [
      "*-i-eh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-éh₂#Proto-Indo-European:_i-extension"
    ],
    [
      "*-íā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/-íā"
    ],
    [
      "-ῐ́ᾱ",
      "-ία#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Ἰνδία",
      "Ἰνδία#Ancient_Greek:_India"
    ],
    [
      "India",
      "India#Latin:_region"
    ],
    [
      "Indea",
      "Indea#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "India",
      "India#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "Indea",
      "Indea#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "India",
      "India#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Ἰνδία",
      "Ἰνδία#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Ἰνδός",
      "Ἰνδός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁",
      "𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁#Old_Persian"
    ],
    [
      "सिन्धु",
      "सिन्धु#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "*síndʰuš",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/síndʰuš"
    ],
    [
      "Inde",
      "Inde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "Ynde",
      "Ynde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "Ynde",
      "Ynde#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "هند",
      "هند#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "सिन्धु",
      "सिन्धु#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "Indus",
      "Indus#English"
    ],
    [
      "Sindhu",
      "Sindhu#English"
    ],
    [
      "Hindu",
      "Hindu#English"
    ],
    [
      "Sindh",
      "Sindh#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Bengali",
      "lang_code": "bn",
      "word": "ইন্ডিয়া",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "inḍiẏa"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Gujarati",
      "lang_code": "gu",
      "word": "ઈન્ડિયા",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "īnḍiyā"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Hawaiian",
      "lang_code": "haw",
      "word": "ʻĪnia",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Hawaiian",
      "lang_code": "haw",
      "word": "ʻInia",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "word": "इंडिया",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "iṇḍiyā"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "インディア",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Kannada",
      "lang_code": "kn",
      "word": "ಇಂಡಿಯಾ",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "iṇḍiyā"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Kashmiri",
      "lang_code": "ks",
      "word": "इंडिया",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "iṃḍiyā"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Korean",
      "lang_code": "ko",
      "word": "인디아",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "india"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Malayalam",
      "lang_code": "ml",
      "word": "ഇന്ത്യ",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "intya"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Malayalam",
      "lang_code": "ml",
      "word": "ഇൻഡ്യ",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "iṉḍya"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Marathi",
      "lang_code": "mr",
      "word": "इंडिया",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "iṇḍiyā"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Tamil",
      "lang_code": "ta",
      "word": "இந்தியா",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "intiyā"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Telugu",
      "lang_code": "te",
      "word": "ఇండియా",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "iṇḍiyā"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Yoruba",
      "lang_code": "yo",
      "word": "Íńdíà",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A country in South Asia. Official name: Republic of India. Capital: New Delhi.",
        "A region of South Asia, traditionally delimited by the Himalayas and the Indus river; the Indian subcontinent.",
        "A territory of the British Empire, chiefly comprising the modern day countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Burma.",
        "A female given name."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical",
        "proscribed"
      ],
      "recordId": "4747d248095764df93e22de08305ee6f85975a318c0ca5bdf8753b860d7e5d10",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a4062ba2a0b051dd01c3468289397aafef2b7de21b9ac598b1f5b26de4d28fc3",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 9052
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for India →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-SW5kaWE