Hindi

[ hin-dee ]

/ ˈhɪn di /

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noun

the most widely spoken of the modern Indic vernaculars, especially its best-known variety, Western Hindi.

a literary language derived from Hindustani, used by Hindus.

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Origin of Hindi

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Hindi, Urdu, equivalent to Persian Hind, Hindu (compare Sanskrit Sindhu “river,” specifically the Indus river, with the extended sense “region of the Indus; Sind”) + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; replacing Hinduee, from Persian Hinduī; see also Sind

Words nearby Hindi

Hindenburg line, hinder, hindered, Hindfell, hindgut, Hindi, hindmost, Hindoo, Hindoostani, hindquarter, hindrance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Hindi in a sentence

He taught himself Hindi and English, attaining such a level of proficiency that he later performed in both languages.
How An Indian Stand Up Comic Found Himself Arrested for a Joke He Didn't Tell|Sonia Faleiro|February 10, 2021|Time
All these conveniences are powered by language-specific AI programs, and they’re available to more than 4 billion speakers of languages like English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Hindi.
Data scientists are trying to make the internet accessible in every language|Nicolás Rivero|October 25, 2020|Quartz
As recounted in the Hindi-language film Shakuntala Devi, available with subtitles on Amazon Prime, she could make complex mental calculations at a rapid-fire pace, even as a small child.
A documentary and a Bollywood film highlight two disparate paths in mathematics|Emily Conover|October 15, 2020|Science News
India’s Flipkart bets on free video streaming service and Hindi support to win next 200 million internet usersOn Friday, Madhavan Malolan announced CreatorOS, a platform that enables creators to build, manage and grow their businesses.
High-profile startup execs back Indian influencers platform CreatorOS|Manish Singh|October 9, 2020|TechCrunch

In Hindi and a number of other languages derived from Sanskrit, namaste is basically a respectful way of saying hello and also goodbye.
Why ‘Namaste’ Has Become The Perfect Pandemic Greeting|LGBTQ-Editor|September 30, 2020|No Straight News
The most notorious enforcers of honor codes are unelected “village councils,” referred to as khap panchayats in Hindi.
How India’s Honor Culture Perpetuates Mass Rape|Amana Fontanella-Khan|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Hindi, dhoom means blast, and this movie may indeed be a blast.
‘Dhoom 3’ Review: Bollywood’s Baffling Blockbuster|Sujay Kumar|December 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Locals used to teach British officers Arabic, Hindi, Urdu and Persian.
The Taliban’s Letter to Malala Yousafzai|The Daily Beast|July 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Badmashi” means a “goon” in the Urdu and Hindi parlance of the subcontinent.
Perry Has a Point About the Marines Video vs. the Daniel Pearl Video|Asra Q. Nomani|January 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
UPDATE, Dec. 18, 2011: In Urdu and Hindi, languages of India and Pakistan, the word for "drama" is "tamasha."
Veena Malik, FHM Cover Model, Found Safe After Disappearance|Asra Q. Nomani|December 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
As vernacular languages were used for poetry, problems of Hindi composition began to dwarf those of Sanskrit.
The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry|W. G. Archer
It is really a camp language made up of Sanscrit, Persian, Hindi and many other tongues.
Life in an Indian Outpost|Gordon Casserly
I often saw him teaching the small boys to read the Hindi characters, which are the same as used for the written Tibetan language.
Life in an Indian Outpost|Gordon Casserly
Here Bengali and Eastern Hindi exactly represent the ancient state of affairs.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various
Before that it was grouped with all the other languages spoken between Bengal and the Punjab, under the general term “Hindi.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Hindi

Hindi

/ (ˈhɪndɪ) /

noun

a language or group of dialects of N central India. It belongs to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family and is closely related to UrduSee also Hindustani

a formal literary dialect of this language, the official language of India, usually written in Nagari script

a person whose native language is Hindi

Word Origin for Hindi

C18: from Hindi hindī, from Hind India, from Old Persian Hindu the river Indus

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