Of Avatars and Jungles: Words Taken from the Hindi and Urdu

Last year, an American 3D film called Avatar dazzled children and adults alike with its nonhuman characters, its human emotions, and its futuristic setting, but few of us who enjoyed the film gave a thought to where the title word had come from. Prior to the film's release, the word avatar had already been in use among people who played video games, but it wasn’t until its use in the film that its concept was understood by the broader, non-gaming public. 

Surprisingly, the word came not from the U.S., not from the future, and not from high tech. It came, instead, from India, and it is a very ancient word. The Hindi word avatar, from the Sanskrit, means the physical manifestation or incarnation of a god or spirit. 


The contemporary English “borrowed” word has come to mean a visual representation of oneself—a representation of one’s “spirit”—on the Internet, or in a game.* Ms. Picky’s post this week is about other words taken from Hindi (the national language of India) and Urdu (the national language of Pakistan), whose derivations, like avatar’s, are not widely known—at least by most Americans.

For purposes of discussion, it makes sense to take the Hindi and Urdu languages as a pair, because they are closely allied linguistically—at least from the point of view of the spoken word. How the two languages are written, however, is another story: Hindi writing is derived from Sanskrit, while Urdu writing is derived from Persian and Arabic.  

Originally, as spoken languages, Hindi and Urdu were almost identical and were the lingua franca** of what was, for more than 300 years, British Colonial India, an area that included today’s India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. With Independence, however—and Partition—the geographical separation, religious nationalism, and political tensions between Hindus and Moslems led to differences even in the spoken languages.

Regarding Hindi and Urdu words in English, what’s somewhat surprising is that the words are not at all specific to American cities with large Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi populations. Although the greatest emigration from the Subcontinent to the U.S. and Canada is fairly recent, many Hindi and Urdu words have been in North America for more than 200 years, and were probably brought to England during the Colonial period, then imported to the U.S. by British, rather than Indian, émigrés. With that as context, here are a few words that many Americans would have considered as having a thoroughly English or American DNA—but that are as Indian as the Taj Mahal.

Bandanna. A colorful printed cotton scarf or handkerchief often tied around the neck or head. From bandhna, to tie a scarf or turban around the head.

Bungalow. A small, usually one-story house, often with a porch or veranda. From the Hindi and Bengali word bangla, or Bengali, and meaning a house in the Bengali style.

Cot. A small or portable bed, especially one of canvas on a folding frame. From the Hindi word “khat,” for couch or hammock.

Horde. From the Urdu word “ordu” or royal camp. Now used to refer to a large crowd of people. Originally the name of a tribe of nomads who lived in tents and migrated from one place to another.

Juggernaut. A force that is relentlessly and insensitively destructive. From the Hindi word “Juggernaut,” for an avatar of Vishnu, or Krishna. (Every year, according to Hindu belief, the avatar is believed to travel in a grand chariot, from his temple in Puri, to his palace in the countryside. The belief is an occasion for one of the biggest religious festivals in India, one that, because of the sheer numbers of devotees in attendance, is sometimes the occasion of accidents in which people are dragged under the wheels of the festival’s chariots. In the eighteenth century, when the British first witnessed the festival, there were such large numbers of devotees injured or killed that the British began to refer to any great destruction as a “juggernaut.”)

Jungle. The densest form of tropical forest. Used metaphorically for a harsh environment characterized by a fierce competitiveness; used hyperbolically for an uncultivated garden. From the Hindi “jangal,” taken from the Sanskrit “jangala.” In India and Pakistan today, a person who exhibits uncivilized or brutish behavior is referred to as a jangli.

Mug, Mugger. To attack and rob someone, usually on the street. From the Hindi “magar,” from the older Sanskrit “makara,” for crocodile. (Fashionable Victorian purses were made from the skin of the magar; hence purse-snatchers who stole them were “muggers.”)

Pajamas. Loose sleepwear. From the Urdu word “pay” for leg, and “jama” for clothing. A “payjama” or “clothing with legs” was the name for a loose pair of trousers worn by men and women in India. Because the loose garments were comfortable in hot climates, Europeans in Colonial India wore them to bed.

Pundit. Someone who speaks with authority on a subject, often used facetiously or cynically. From the Hindi “pandit,” a learned scholar or priest from a sect of Brahmins.

Sentry. An armed guard assigned to monitor entrances and exits. From the Hindi “santri,” an armed guard.

Shampoo. Detergentlike liquid for washing the hair. From the Hindi “champo,” to massage the head, usually with some sort of hair oil.

Thug. Ruffian, or professional robber. From the Hindi “thuggee.” Thuggee groups were sometimes Hindu, sometimes Sikh or Moslem, but the group’s name derives from certain followers of the Hindu goddess Kali, who were active during early periods of political unrest, with rulers changing from Hindu Rajput to Moslem Moghul and back again.

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* It’s quite likely that the first use of the word avatar in a video game was conceived of by a native speaker of Hindi or Urdu. It wouldn’t have been the first time someone had drawn on his own culture for a script. Many readers are aware that Star Trek’s Leonard Nemoy suggested a hand-gesture that would make a good Vulcan salute for Spock; it was actually the gesture for the Jewish priestly blessing. 
**Language used as a common tongue by people who all have different first languages. Today, it appears that English has evolved to be the world's lingua franca.