印度

Meanings

Etymology

A transcription of an exonym for India during the Tang dynasty. Introduced by Xuanzang (a Chinese Buddhist monk who had travelled to India) in his book The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions [646 CE], Xuanzang proposed that this “correct” name be used, in preference to the many other alternative names for India: : This Tang-dynasty transcription reflected a source form of *In-du or *In-dak, although the source language is unclear and uncertain. It is unlikely to be an endonym used by the Indians, who, as Xuanzang described, used the names of the local states. Later in the same passage, Xuanzang explained the name Yin-du as one of the many names for “Moon” (in India), evidently referring to the word in Sanskrit इन्दु॑ (índu, “Moon”). Xuanzang also explained that: : Although now deemed etymologically unsound, this was likely suggesting that the transcription Yin-du was a phono-semantic matching, to be interpreted literally as “trace (印 (yìn)) + transmigration (度)”. The source language for this borrowing is unclear and uncertain. The glottal-stop initial of the first syllable in this term is unusual; it is also reflected in 印特伽 (MC 'jinH dok gja), the Kuchean name for “India” recorded in Song Gaoseng Zhuan [988 CE]. On the basis of this, Wang et al. (2011: 8–9) proposed that Yin-du was borrowed from Tocharian B; compare Tocharian B yentuke (“Indian”), with a similar phonological shape. Doublet of 印地安 (yìndì'ān).

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Stroke order

Components

Components from cjk-decomp · MIT

Characters

Example sentences

• 佛教來自印度。

  Buddhism originated in India.

• 你喜歡印度菜嗎？

  Do you like Indian food?

• 佛教起源於印度。

  Buddhism had its beginnings in India.

• 印度是发展中国家。

  India is a developing country.

• 印度的人口有多少？

  What is the population of India?

• 我們從印度進口茶葉。

  We import tea from India.

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More examples & usage (AI)

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Related words