Language · 2
Which English word borrowed from Sanskrit now means nearly the opposite of its original sense of a dry wasteland?
Answer
Jungle
Sanskrit 'jangala' meant a barren wasteland, but as the word passed into English via Hindi and other languages, it came to describe lush, dense forest, essentially flipping its original meaning.
💡 Did you know?
English 'jungle' derives from Sanskrit 'jangala' (wasteland), yet became synonymous with dense forests—almost the opposite of its original meaning.
Other options people guess
- Bungalow
- Pundit
- Shampoo
Topics
- etymology
- sanskrit
- loanwords
- semantic-shift
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