Hindu

American  

[hin-doo] / ˈhɪn du /

Or Hindoo

noun

1. a person, especially of northern India, who adheres to Hinduism.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to Hindus or Hinduism.

Hindu British  

/ hɪnˈduː, ˈhɪnduː /

noun

1. a person who adheres to Hinduism

2. an inhabitant or native of Hindustan or India, esp one adhering to Hinduism

---

adjective

1. relating to Hinduism, Hindus, or India

Other Word Forms

• anti-Hindu adjective
• non-Hindu noun
• pro-Hindu adjective
• pseudo-Hindu adjective

Etymology

Origin of Hindu

1655–65; < Persian Hindū Indian (adj., noun), equivalent to Hind ( Hindi ) + -ū adj. suffix

Compare meaning

How does hindu compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Hindi vs. Hindu

Example Sentences

He was locked in a room for several hours before a local official and a Hindu priest came to his aid.

From BBC

Minister Seethakka told the Hindu newspaper that killing stray dogs under the pretext of population control could not be justified under any circumstances.

From BBC

Born to Indian immigrants, she grew up in a Hindu household in San Diego.

From The Wall Street Journal

Seventy-five Hindu couples from across the country get married at a mass wedding ceremony in Pakistan’s city of Karachi, organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council, which helps couples from low-income families.

From Barron's

Payesh is believed to have originated nearly 2,000 years ago, as an offering to the Hindu gods in the Lord Jagannath Temple in Orissa, the former name of the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

From Salon