Limbu

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A Tibeto-Burman people living mainly in eastern Nepal, Sikkim and Darjeeling ; the Sino-Tibetan language spoken by members of this community
2. A mountain-dwelling ethnic community from eastern Himalayan regions of Nepal and India ; a Sino-Tibetan tongue used by that people in everyday speech
3. An indigenous Himalayan population of eastern Nepal and neighbouring areas of India ; the native tongue of that population, belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family

Etymology: The people known as the Limbu call themselves Yakthung, meaning roughly "the people of the Yakthung language," and the name Limbu is an outside label. It is used mainly by Nepali speakers and by the wider Nepali-speaking world, and it was applied to the group as a whole. The exact origin of the outside name is uncertain, and it is not clear whether it reflects a place, a clan, or a description used by neighbouring peoples. The Limbu are one of the Kirati peoples of the eastern Himalayas, living mainly in eastern Nepal, with communities in Sikkim and Darjeeling. Their language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family and is distinct from Nepali, which is an Indo-Aryan language. Limbu speakers have their own traditional script, called Sirijanga, which has been revived in recent decades.