Lucknow

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The capital city of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, situated on the banks of the Gomti River
2. A large city in northern India that serves as the administrative capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh
3. The principal city and seat of government for the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, known for its Nawabi heritage and cuisine

Etymology: The city's name most likely descends from Sanskrit "lakṣmaṇapura", meaning "city of Lakshmana", after Lakshmana, the brother of the epic hero Rama. Its Hindustani form "lakhnaū" carries that name into the present, shaped over centuries by the speech of the region rather than by any deliberate renaming. A rival explanation links the name to "lakṣmaṇavatī", a word meaning "fortunate", which would give the city a very different founding sentiment. Both possibilities rest on the same Sanskrit roots, so the question is which compound the local name grew from, and the two remain unresolved. In English the name is a straightforward borrowing from the Hindustani form, so the spelling reflects a transliteration of the local pronunciation rather than any English development of the word.