Jaipur

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, known for its pink-washed old town and palaces ; a traditional craft or style of jewelry associated with that city
2. Largest city and capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan, famed for its historic architecture ; a style of decorative metalwork or jewelry linked to the place
3. The Indian state capital of Rajasthan, renowned for its forts and palaces ; a regional handicraft tradition, such as gems or brassware, originating there

Etymology: Jaipur takes its name from Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the eighteenth-century ruler of the Kachwaha dynasty of Amber, who founded the city in 1727. The name combines his own given name, Jai, with "pur," a Sanskrit-derived Hindi element meaning "city" or "town," so the whole word means roughly "city of Jai." The same ending appears in many Indian place names, such as Udaipur and Jaisalmer's neighbours in the region. Jai Singh was a noted astronomer and mathematician who built observatories in several cities, and he planned Jaipur on a grid of straight streets laid out according to traditional Hindu architectural principles. English took the name directly from Hindi, and it is the form that appears in the word's modern spelling.