Hindu
/ˈhɪn.duː/noun
A follower of Hinduism or, more broadly, a person associated with the religions and cultures of the Indian subcontinent.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Sanskrit Sindhu, meaning the Indus River, with the initial S- shifting to H- through Persian and later Greek/Latin transmission.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PII
*síndʰus
“a river or stream”
Old Persian
OPers
Hinduš
“the land beyond the Indus River”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Indós
“an Indian, from the Indus region”
Late Middle Persian
MPers
hindūg
“an Indian person or thing”
Early Modern English
English
Hindu
“a person from India or, later, a follower of Hinduism”
Modern English
English
Hindu
“a follower of Hinduism or a person associated with Hindu culture”