Archive · 11 Sep 2026
How Hindi Shaped Everyday English Words Through History
Many English words people use every day originally came from Hindi or other Indian languages.
The word shampoo began with champi, which meant a head massage.
Bungalow came from bangla, meaning something in the Bengal style.
Pyjamas were South Asian drawstring trousers that British residents adopted.
Cot came from khat, a woven bed.
Chutney came from chatni, meaning to lick or crush.
Some words, such as loot and thug, entered English through colonial military and administrative accounts.
The article says Hindi Diwas is a chance to remember that languages borrow words from one another.
The article highlights ten common English words with Hindi or Indian-language origins.
Shampoo developed from champi, a term for massaging and pressing the scalp with oil.
Bungalow, jungle, pyjamas, cot and chutney also entered English through Indian culture and colonial-era contact.
Juggernaut, loot and thug acquired darker associations through British accounts and interpretations of events in India.
The Oxford English Dictionary has identified around 900 words distinctive to Indian English, with newer additions still appearing.
- Who
- Hindi speakers, Indian communities, British residents in colonial India, and English speakers are involved in this linguistic exchange.
- What
- The article explains how ten everyday English words originated in Hindi, Sanskrit-Hindi, or related Indian-language terms.
- When
- The exchange developed over several centuries; Hindi Diwas is observed on September 14, marking the 1949 adoption of Hindi in Devanagari by India's Constituent Assembly.
- Where
- The words originated in or were shaped by places across India and later spread through Britain and other English-speaking regions.
- Why
- Trade, travel, colonial contact, cultural exchange and historical accounts carried the words into English.
- Hindi Diwas
- Observed on September 14; the article links it to the 1949 adoption of Hindi in Devanagari by the Constituent Assembly.
- Words examined
- Shampoo, bungalow, jungle, pyjamas, cot, chutney, juggernaut, loot, thug and cushy.
- Shampoo origin
- From champi, meaning a head massage involving kneading or pressing the scalp with oil.
- Bungalow origin
- From bangla, meaning in the Bengal style.
- Juggernaut origin
- From Jagannath, a name for Vishnu worshipped at the Jagannath Temple in Puri.
- Indian English vocabulary
- The Oxford English Dictionary had listed around 900 words identified as distinctive to Indian English.