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Hindustani

or Hin·doo·sta·ni

[hin-doo-stah-nee, -stan-ee]
noun
  1. a standard language and lingua franca of northern India based on a dialect of Western Hindi spoken around Delhi. Abbreviation: HindCompare Hindi(def 2), Urdu.
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adjective
  1. of or relating to Hindustan, its people, or their languages.
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Also Hin·do·sta·ni [hin-doh-stah-nee, -stan-ee] /ˌhɪn doʊˈstɑ ni, -ˈstæn i/.

Origin of Hindustani

1610–20; < Hindi, Urdu < Persian, equivalent to Hindūstān region of the Indus, Sind (Hindū Hindu + stān country) + -ī suffix of appurtenance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hindustani

Historical Examples

  • He heard them say in Hindustani: "Here is another of the regiments of shopkeepers."

    With Manchesters in the East

    Gerald B. Hurst

  • They heard him chattering to Lalkhan in Hindustani as they went along the passage.

    Jan and Her Job

    L. Allen Harker

  • Tony understood Hindustani as well as and better than English.

    Jan and Her Job

    L. Allen Harker

  • The major appeared, speaking Hindustani very rapidly, his eyes closed.

    In Mesopotamia

    Martin Swayne

  • The former could speak English and Portuguese; the latter neither, only Hindustani.

    Southern Arabia

    Theodore Bent

British Dictionary definitions for hindustani

Hindustani

Hindoostani Hindostani (ˌhɪndəʊˈstɑːnɪ)

noun
  1. the dialect of Hindi spoken in Delhi: used as a lingua franca throughout India
  2. a group of languages or dialects consisting of all spoken forms of Hindi and Urdu considered together
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adjective
  1. of or relating to these languages or Hindustan
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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