Sindhu

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term often used to refer to a river or body of water in ancient languages, commonly associated with the Indus River in South Asia
2. A word rooted in Sanskrit, denoting a large water source or ocean, frequently linked with geographical and cultural significance
3. Used historically to describe both riverine and maritime features, highlighting the importance of water in various civilizations

Etymology: Sindhu is a Sanskrit word meaning "large flowing river," and its most famous descendant is the name of the Indus, the great river of the northwest Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit term originally referred to a river in general, but for the peoples living along its banks it came to name the particular river they knew best, and that name traveled outward with them. In Persian the same river was called "Hindu," and the Greeks, borrowing from Persian, rendered it as "Indos," which gave us "Indus" and, through the region the river watered, "India." Within English, "Sindhu" appears mainly as a doublet of two words that come from the same Sanskrit source. "Sindh" is the name of the province of Pakistan through which the lower Indus flows, and "Indus" is the Latinized form used for the river itself. Because all three descend from one root, English speakers encounter the same ancient word wearing three different coats.

Synonyms: indus