Marathi

American  

[muh-rah-tee, -rat-ee] / məˈrɑ ti, -ˈræt i /

noun

1. an Indic language of western and central India: the principal language of the state of Maharashtra.

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Marathi British  

/ məˈrɑːtɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to Maharashtra state in India, its people, or their language

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noun

1. the state language of Maharashtra, belonging to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family

Usage

What does Marathi mean? Marathi is a language spoken mainly in Maharashtra, a state in the Republic of India, a southern Asian country. Marathi is a member of the Indic family of languages, which includes languages spoken in Northern India, such as Hindi and Bengali. Marathi is the state language of Maharashtra, a central-western Indian state. Nearly all of the world’s speakers of Marathi live in Maharashtra and its neighboring states or are Maharashtrian immigrants who moved elsewhere, such as to the island of Mauritius.

Etymology

Origin of Marathi

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Raised in a musically rich home by her actor and classical singer father, Deenanath Mangeshkar, Asha began her musical journey early, singing her first song for the Marathi film Majha Bal in 1943.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

In the oldest known writing in Marathi, a language spoken by millions in western and central India, a 13th-century religious leader named Cakradhara points to an acacia tree as a symbol of death and rebirth.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

Digvijay Patil, a PhD student in archeology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune, noticed repeated mentions of unusual plants while studying Sanskrit and Marathi texts related to sacred sites.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

A passenger who was on the train told BBC Marathi that with the air-conditioning switched off, passengers tried to open the doors to call for help.

From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025

To its north it has Sindhi and to its south Marathi, both outer languages with which it has only a slight connexion.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various