Desh
/deɪʃ/noun
A country, homeland, or native land, especially in South Asian English.
Did you know?Desh appears in Bangladesh, literally “the land of Bengal,” and in cultural phrases where it can mean not merely a country but one’s emotionally charged homeland.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*deyḱ-
“To point out, show, or indicate; the reconstructed root traditionally connected with the word’s wider Indo-European family.”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
deśa
“A region, locality, country, or direction.”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
deśa
“Country, land, place, or native region.”
Medieval Indo-Aryan
Prakrits
desa
“Land, territory, country, or locality.”
Modern South Asian languages
Hindi and related languages
deś/desh
“Country, homeland, native land, or region.”
20th Century–Modern English
English
desh
“A loanword used especially in South Asian English for one’s country or homeland.”