List of English Words Having Urudu Origin

Urdu is considered as an Indo-Aryan language. It is categorized as Indo-European family of languages. It is the official language of Pakistan. It has its Sanskrit and Persian roots. The language developed well during Mughal rule in South Asia and the Delhi Sultanate nourished the language. Now it is being spoken in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan. Also spoken in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. The language has about 130 million native speakers and 270 million total speakers all over the world.

Urudu words have entered in European languages. The following is the list of Urudu words incorporated into standard English dictionaries.

1) Bungalownoun a one-storied house with a low-pitched roof; a house having one and a half stories and usually a front porch from Hindi bangla & Urdu bangla, literally, "(house) in the Bengal style".

2) Cushyadjective entailing little hardship or difficulty cushy job with a high salary> Hindi ḵẖuś & Urdu khush from Persian khūsh.

3) Garam Masala noun a pungent and aromatic mixture of ground spices used in Indian cooking from Hindi and Urdu garam masala, literally, "hot spices".

4) Jaconetnoun a lightweight cotton cloth used for clothing and bandages. modification of Hindi & Urdu jagannāthī, from Jagannāth, seaport in India

5) Jhukarnoun from Jhukar, Sind, Pakistan, where artifacts were found. Of or relating to a culture of the Indus valley about 2500 B.C. and later that is known from settlements built upon those of Harappa and is characterized by buildings inferior to Harappa and round crudely decorated seals or seal amulets of pottery.

6) Khakinoun a khaki-colored cloth made usually of cotton or wool and used especially for military uniforms. dust colour. Hindi & Urdu khākī dust-colored, from khāk dust, from Persian

7) Poorinoun a dish made from wheat from Hindi & Urdu puri, from Sanskrit pura "cake".

8) Quettanoun characterized by pottery decorated in geometric designs. A geographical name from Quetta, town in Baluchistan, Pakistan.

9) Raitanoun A kind of salad prepared using yoghurt from Hindi & Urdu rayta.

10) Roti noun a round soft flat unleavened bread. Hindi & Urdu roṭi bread; akin to Sanskrit roṭika, kind of bread; akin to Prakrit rotta "rice flour", Sanskrit rotika "kind of bread".

Source:

1) Merriam Webster Online Search - http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/

2) Wikipedia - List of English words of Urdu origin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Urdu_origin

3) Wikipedia -Urdu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdu