# Hindu

Pronunciation: US say "HIN-doo" /ˈhɪndu/; UK

## Noun

1. A person who adheres to the religion of Hinduism.
   - Simple: A person who follows the religion of Hinduism.
   - _As a devout Hindu, she fasts on certain holy days each year._
   - _Millions of Hindus gather at the river for the annual pilgrimage._

## Adjective

2. Having to do with the religion of Hinduism, or with Hindus and their way of life.
   - Simple: Belonging to or connected with Hinduism and the people who follow it.
   - _The festival features Hindu rituals passed down for generations._
   - _She studies Hindu philosophy and Sanskrit texts at the university._

## Noun

3. A native inhabitant of Hindustan, regardless of religious affiliation. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A person born in Hindustan, an older name for the Indian region.
   - _The old gazetteer counted every Hindu of the province, Muslim and Christian families included._
   - _Early merchants described the Hindus of the coast as skilled sailors._
4. A person identified as belonging to India by both religion and race. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A person seen as belonging to India by both faith and ancestry.
   - _The census official classed every Indian-born laborer as a Hindu by both blood and creed._
   - _Nineteenth-century records grouped these Hindus together by ancestry as much as by faith._
5. A merchant or trader (a bunnia) who travels accompanied by a company of soldiers. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A trader who travels with a group of armed soldiers.

## Origin

This word comes from Classical Persian هِنْدُو (hindū, "Indian, Hindu"), from Middle Persian Hindūg ("Indian") and Hind ("India"), and ultimately from Old Persian and Sanskrit síndhu ("river, stream; Indus"), tracing back through Proto-Indo-Aryan and Proto-Indo-Iranian words for "river."

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