Sinhalese

American  

[sin-huh-leez, -lees] / ˌsɪn həˈliz, -ˈlis /

adjective

1. of or relating to Sri Lanka, its native people, or their language.

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noun

PLURAL

Sinhalese

1. a member of the Sinhalese people.

2. an Indic language that is the language of the majority of the population of Sri Lanka, including Colombo.

Sinhalese British  

/ ˌsɪnhəˈliːz /

noun

1. a member of a people living chiefly in Sri Lanka, where they constitute the majority of the population

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family: the official language of Sri Lanka. It is written in a script of Indian origin

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adjective

1. of or relating to this people or their language

Example Sentences

It’s the first election since the mass protests - called the “aragalaya”, Sinhalese for struggle – which were sparked by Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis.

From BBC

The island nation of 20 million is overwhelmingly ethnically Sinhalese, with the Tamil community making up about 11% of the population.

From Seattle Times

The war limited his impact, according to some scholars and observers, as the country reeled from repeated bouts of violent conflict between the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, like Mr. Ariyaratne, and the minority Tamils, mostly Hindu.

From New York Times

Its name derives from a Sinhalese word, beri, meaning “weak” or “I cannot” — a term used by listless victims in what is now Sri Lanka, who were among the first patients studied by scientists.

From Los Angeles Times

But he said provinces would not be allowed to exercise police powers immediately since opposition by the majority ethnic Sinhalese could derail the process.

From Seattle Times