Punjab

[ puhn-jahb, puhn-jahb ]

noun
  1. a former province in NW British India: now divided between India and Pakistan.

  2. a state in NW India. 47,456 sq. mi. (122,911 sq. km). Capital: Chandigarh.

  1. a province in NE Pakistan. 19,445 sq. mi. (50,362 sq. km). Capital: Lahore.

Origin of Punjab

1
First recorded in 1830–35; from Hindi, Urdu Panjāb, from Persian panj âb, literally “(land of) five waters, five rivers” (the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas, tributaries of the Indus)

Words Nearby Punjab

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Punjab in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Punjab

Punjab

/ (pʌnˈdʒɑːb, ˈpʌndʒɑːb) /


noun
  1. (formerly) a province in NW British India: divided between India and Pakistan in 1947

  2. a state of NW India: reorganized in 1966 as a Punjabi-speaking state, a large part forming the new state of Haryana; mainly agricultural. Capital: Chandigarh. Pop: 24 289 296 (2001). Area: 50 255 sq km (19 403 sq miles)

  1. a province of W Pakistan: created in 1947. Capital: Lahore. Pop: 82 710 000 (2003 est). Area: 205 344 sq km (127 595 sq miles)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012