Sindhu
/ˈsɪn.d̪ʱuː/noun
A Sanskrit word meaning a river, stream, or the Indus River.
Did you know?In Vedic Sanskrit, Sindhu could mean both “river” and specifically the Indus, and the name spread westward through Persian and Greek forms that ultimately helped create the word “India.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sindhu-
“Possibly a river or flowing water term, though the deeper pre-Sanskrit history is uncertain.”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
sindhu
“A river, stream, or the Indus River.”
Old Persian
Old Persian
Hinduš
“The Indus region, named from the river beyond the Persian frontier.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Índos
“The Indus River and the lands associated with it.”
Latin
Latin
India
“The land beyond the Indus.”
Modern English
English
India
“The country in South Asia.”