Bengal

American  

[ben-gawl, -gahl, beng-, ben-guhl, beng-] / bɛnˈgɔl, -ˈgɑl, bɛŋ-, ˈbɛn gəl, ˈbɛŋ- /

noun

1. a former province in northeastern India, now divided between India and Bangladesh.

2. Bay of Bengal, a part of the Indian Ocean between India and Myanmar (Burma).

3. a raw silk from Bengal.

4. a fabric, especially one made of silk and hair.

5. a fabric, similar to muslin, with printed stripes.

---

Bengal British  

/ bɛnˈɡɔːl, bɛŋ- /

noun

1. a former province of NE India, in the great deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers: in 1947 divided into West Bengal (belonging to India) and East Bengal (Bangladesh)

2. a wide arm of the Indian Ocean, between India and Myanmar

3. a breed of medium-large cat with a spotted or marbled coat

---

Example Sentences

In Bengal, fish has always carried meanings far beyond the plate, and its political afterlife feels almost inevitable.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

Muhammad Daud Ali, a former Indian army technician, recently discovered that he was no longer a voter in his home state of West Bengal.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

Near Rangpo, the Teesta joins with another river and carries on toward the Bay of Bengal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

"Although our research has focused on the Bengal slow loris and demonstrated the consequences of such practices, we believe similar patterns likely affect many other species."

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Even Chacko had no really complete explanation for why the Communist Party was so much more successful in Kerala than it had been almost anywhere else in India, except perhaps in West Bengal.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy