*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Urdu

Borrowed from Hindustani (see Urdu اُرْدُو (urdū) and Hindi उर्दू (urdū)), from Classical Persian اُرْدُو (urdū), from Proto-Turkic *ordu (“army, camp”) ( > Azerbaijani ordu, Turkish ordu, Turkmen oorda). Doublet of hord

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
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

Modern Standard Urdu, an Indo-Aryan language with native speakers mainly in Pakistan and North India. It is a standardized and Persianized version of Hindustani.

adj

Of or relating to the Urdu language.

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

Borrowed from Hindustani (see Urdu اُرْدُو (urdū) and Hindi उर्दू (urdū)), from Classical Persian اُرْدُو (urdū), from Proto-Turkic *ordu (“army, camp”) ( > Azerbaijani ordu, Turkish ordu, Turkmen oorda). Doublet of horde and orda.

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": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "inc-hnd"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Hindustani"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ur",
        "3": "اُرْدُو"
      },
      "expansion": "Urdu اُرْدُو (urdū)"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi",
        "3": "उर्दू"
      },
      "expansion": "Hindi उर्दू (urdū)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fa-cls",
        "3": "اُرْدُو"
      },
      "expansion": "Classical Persian اُرْدُو (urdū)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "trk-pro",
        "3": "*ordu",
        "t": "army, camp"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Turkic *ordu (“army, camp”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "az",
        "2": "ordu"
      },
      "expansion": "Azerbaijani ordu"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "tr",
        "2": "ordu"
      },
      "expansion": "Turkish ordu"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "tk",
        "2": "oorda"
      },
      "expansion": "Turkmen oorda"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "horde",
        "3": "orda"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of horde and orda"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "اُرْدُو",
      "اردو#Urdu"
    ],
    [
      "उर्दू",
      "उर्दू#Hindi"
    ],
    [
      "اُرْدُو",
      "اردو#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "*ordu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/ordu"
    ],
    [
      "ordu",
      "ordu#Azerbaijani"
    ],
    [
      "ordu",
      "ordu#Turkish"
    ],
    [
      "oorda",
      "oorda#Turkmen"
    ],
    [
      "horde",
      "horde#English"
    ],
    [
      "orda",
      "orda#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Modern Standard Urdu, an Indo-Aryan language with native speakers mainly in Pakistan and North India. It is a standardized and Persianized version of Hindustani."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "6534b92ee5b16610b9cbb829ae1a10a84c8b32fdd19f38ddef1adf04e7d7b6d5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f5d894cac860e07961cdebd0db15ccd812cbba4409d71d6aa0bd2e3785dc070c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 162345
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of or relating to the Urdu language."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "d59f0978276e07a88f801f69e6a8087411217e1c2f23db50cfdce6e4dd8f85ef",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d5e541bc9c0d861b0dd619c762dfe94896fc665d1b7d6872be969fd3c7c4744a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 162346
    }
  ],
  "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 Urdu →

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-VXJkdQ