Hindoostani
- noun
- Archaic
:
hindostaní
- She learned to speak Hindoostani while living near Delhi with her family.
Examples
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The British administration often used Hindoostani as a lingua franca in colonial India.
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Poetry and literature in Hindoostani flourished during the Mughal era.
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The Hindoostani language has a rich history.
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Many people in Delhi speak Hindoostani as a second language.
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During her studies in India, she discovered that Hindoostani is widely understood by many people in northern regions.
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In colonial India, Hindoostani served as a common language facilitating communication among diverse communities.
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The music from the Mughal period often incorporated Hindoostani, reflecting its cultural significance.
Synonyms
9
2.7
A widely spoken language in northern India usually written in Devanagari script
An older form of Hindi people spoke around Delhi to talk across northern India
An old form of Hindi spoken around Delhi that led to modern Hindi and Urdu
A form of Hindi spoken around Delhi and northern India that came before modern Hindi and Urdu
A language spoken around Delhi that is the base of modern Hindi and Urdu
A form of Hindi and Urdu spoken mainly in northern India
Compounds
An old form of Hindi spoken around Delhi that led to modern Hindi and Urdu
Surface Forms
Etymology
Hindoostani comes from Hindustan ('land of the Hindus' or 'India') plus the Persian ending -i ('from' or 'of'), so the word means 'from Hindustan' and is used for the form of Hindi spoken around Delhi and as a common language in northern India.