Indian subcontinent

[ in-dee-uhn suhb-kon-tn-uhnt, suhb-kon- ]

noun

1. a subcontinent in southern Asia, physically occupied by Pakistan, the Republic of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and geopolitically including Sri Lanka, an island republic off the southeast tip of India, and the Maldives, an archipelagic republic southwest of Sri Lanka. Compare South Asia ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of Indian subcontinent¹

First recorded in 1895–1900