A Lesson in Learning Hindi Through English

English is a hybrid of many different tongues, including Hindi. Can you believe it? You've been speaking Hindi all your life and never knew it.

Some common words:

Anaconda – from Sinhalese henakandaya, “whip snake”
Bandana – from Bandhna, “to tie a scarf around the head”
Bangle – from Baangri, a type of bracelet
Bungalow – from Banglaa, lit. “a Bengali house”
Candy – from Sanskrit khanda, “sugar”
Cashmere – from Kashmir, the Himalayan state in India where wool is from
Cheetah – from c’itaa, “speckled”
Cot – from Khat, a portable bed
Cushy – from khushi, “happy, soft, comfortable”
Himalaya – from himalayah, “place of snow”
Indigo – from the Indus river; a tropical pea plant that can be used to make dark blue dye
Jungle – from jangal, “forest”
Khaki – “dust colored”
Loot – from luta, meaning “to steal”
Mango – from Malay manga or Tamil manaky, a fruit
Mongol – from Mughal, an Indian emperor
Mugger – from magar, meaning “crocodile”
Orange – from niranj, “orange”
Pariah – from pariah, an untouchable Tamil caste
Pundit – from pandit, an educated person
Sentry – from santri, “armed guard”
Shampoo – from champoo, “to massage”; i.e. to massage the scalp
Swastika – originally an Indian symbol denoting good luck. From svastika, “well-being”
Thug – from thag, “thief”