Ganges River
1
2.1
- proper noun
:
río Ganges
- The Ganges River flows through several major cities in northern India, providing water to millions of people.
- the holy Ganges River
Examples
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Throughout the long history of negotiations over the sharing of the Ganges River, the Indian government has always maintained that the water diverted at Farakka is needed to flush the Hooghly River to keep the port of Calcutta navigable; there is some evidence to support that argument.
Academic text (1998) -
The Ganges River is considered sacred by millions of Hindus who come to bathe in its holy waters.
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The Ganges River is holy because it flows from Shiva's hair.
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We were told it would be impossible to film inside a temple on the Ganges River, but this wasn't just any temple.
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Second, as a solution to that problem, they agreed to explore the possibility of augmenting the water of the Ganges River so that both countries might use it during the dry season.
Academic text (1998) -
The high priest of the god Shiva is asking me to sing a song of freedom on the steps of the Ganges River in front of their temple.
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How do you describe the head priest of the Temple of Shiva on the Ganges River singing... just eating... just eating his thing being like, "Freedom!
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The 1977 treaty was the first major agreement between the two countries on the sharing of the water of the Ganges River, and so I will discuss its salient features as well.
Academic text (1998) -
Fertile soils in the floodplains of eastern China and the Ganges River have maintained high population densities over millennia.
Academic text (2006) -
Under Prints, Creative, Boris Starosta, Welder; History, Constance Lower, APSA, Pansies on Wagon; People on Travel, Dale Walsh, Ganges River, Boat Operator, India.
Academic text (2001)
Synonyms
11
4.2
A major sacred river in northern India and Bangladesh
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression is a straightforward proper-name + noun combination: 'Ganges' identifies the specific place and 'river' indicates its category, so the overall meaning (the river called the Ganges) is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Ganges River is linked to a famous story: one popular story says the goddess Ganga came down from heaven and her waters flowed across the land. Because people believed the river came from the gods, Hindus call it 'sacred' and bathe there 'to be purified'.