Nepali

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Of or relating to the people, language, or culture of Nepal
2. Pertaining to the ethnic group native to Nepal, including their customs and traditions
3. Describing the official language spoken in Nepal, which serves as a means of communication among its diverse population

Etymology: Nepali is a word that tells you almost nothing about Nepal's language until you see the suffix doing the work. The name "Nepal" is the root, and the ending "-i" is what turns a country into an adjective meaning "relating to Nepal." English adds this ending to many place names, as in "Thai," "Iraqi," or "Israeli," so Nepali follows an ordinary pattern. The suffix itself has a long and wandering ancestry. Its distant source is a Proto-Indo-European element that passed through Indo-Iranian and Old Persian forms, and it reached English through a chain of Persian, Arabic, and Hindi-Urdu influences. Along the way it was borrowed and reshaped several times, so the ending that closes "Nepali" has been carried through many languages before it ever met the name of the Himalayan country.

Synonyms: Nepalese