Sinhalese

[sin-huh-leez, -lees]

adjective

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

noun, plural Sin·ha·lese for 2.

a member of the Sinhalese people.
an Indic language that is the language of the majority of the population of Sri Lanka, including Colombo.

Also Singhalese.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sinhalese

Contemporary Examples of sinhalese

Prabhakaran had come to personify the movement, and his end, so wretched, became the emblem of Tamil defeat and Sinhalese triumph.
Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka’s Reign of Terror
Kapil Komireddi
November 15, 2013
“Our country is a Sinhalese one and we are its unofficial police,” one monk announced.
What Intolerant Buddhist Monks Are Doing to Sri Lanka
Kapil Komireddi
April 12, 2013
There are many Sinhalese Buddhists who are mortified by the turn their country has taken under the Rajapaksas.
What Intolerant Buddhist Monks Are Doing to Sri Lanka
Kapil Komireddi
April 12, 2013

Historical Examples of sinhalese

Just as the Tooth was considered to be the palladium of Sinhalese kings.
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Charles Eliot
The Sinhalese, unlike the Hindus, had no native propensity to speculation.
Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. (of 3)
Charles Eliot
Sinhalese and Burmese traditions also credit him with the despatch of missionaries who converted Suvarṇabhûmi or Pegu.
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Charles Eliot
Such Sinhalese kings as had the power protected the Church and erected magnificent buildings for its service.
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Charles Eliot
The Sinhalese tradition agrees on the whole with the data supplied by Indian inscriptions and Chinese pilgrims.
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Charles Eliot

British Dictionary definitions for sinhalese

Sinhalese

Singhalese or Sinhala

noun

plural -leses or -lese a member of a people living chiefly in Sri Lanka, where they constitute the majority of the population
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

adjective

of or relating to this people or their language

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

Word Origin and History for sinhalese

Sinhalese

adj.

also Singhalese, "pertaining to Sri Lanka," 1797, from Sanskrit Sinhala "Sri Lanka, Ceylon," from simhala-, literally "of lions," from simhah "lion." As the name of a language spoken there, it is attested from 1801.