# Hindi

Pronunciation: US say "HIN-dee" /ˈhɪndi/; UK say "hin-DHEE" /hɪnˈðiː/

## Proper noun

1. The standardized, Sanskritized form of the Hindustani language, based on the Khariboli dialect.
   - Simple: A standard, formal form of the Hindustani language, used as an official language across northern India.
   - _He writes most of his poetry in Hindi rather than English._
   - _The conference offered live translation into Hindi for visiting delegates._
3. The related Indo-Aryan languages that form the Central Zone, also found in Fiji and Guyana and spoken as a second language by Indian communities in many other countries.
   - Simple: A group of related Indo-Aryan languages from central northern India, also spoken in Fiji and Guyana.
   - _Indentured laborers carried Hindi to Fiji and Guyana in the nineteenth century._
   - _Across the central belt, Hindi extends as a cluster of related Indo-Aryan tongues._
4. All the lects spoken in the Hindi Belt, including some that do not belong to the Central Zone of Indo-Aryan languages.
   - Simple: All the local language varieties spoken in the Hindi Belt of northern India, even ones not closely related.
   - _Census takers sometimes record Hindi so broadly that it covers dozens of distinct lects._
   - _Under the widest definition, Hindi takes in speech forms well outside the Central Zone._

## Adjective

2. Relating to or expressed in the Hindi language.
   - Simple: Belonging to or written in the Hindi language.
   - _He grew up listening to Hindi songs on the radio._
   - _The library keeps a large collection of Hindi literature._
5. Indian; relating to India or its inhabitants.
   - Simple: Indian, or relating to India and its people.
   - _The captain's ledger listed bales of Hindi cotton bound for European ports._
   - _Merchants prized Hindi wares for their fine workmanship._

## Proper noun

6. The dialect spoken in Delhi, later known as Hindustani. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The dialect once spoken in Delhi that is now called Hindustani.

## Other meanings

- (proper noun) A barangay of the municipality of Bacacay, in Albay province, the Philippines.

## Origin

Borrowed from Hindi हिंदी (hindī), from Classical Persian هِنْدِی (hindī). By surface analysis, it breaks down into Hind + -i.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hindi (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).