Newsgroups: sci.lang
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From: lilandbr@scn.org (Leland Bryant Ross)
Subject: Indian etyma desacralized
Message-ID: <DyKtGn.DBI@scn.org>
Sender: news@scn.org
Reply-To: lilandbr@scn.org (Leland Bryant Ross)
Organization: Seattle Community Network
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 02:55:34 GMT
Lines: 22


I'm looking for English words of Indian (subcontinental) origin that had 
(etymologically) religious referents or connotations (in the Indic or 
Dravidian languages of origin) but whose English avatars are secular.  
The three that spring first to my mind are "juggernaut", "thug", and 
"pundit".  Other nominations?

A possibly interesting borderline case is the English expression of 
farewell "so long!"--*if* it is derived from Urdu "salaam"--borderline 
both because only marginally religious in Urdu, and because for all I 
know the Urdu derivation may be mere folklore.  "Brahma/Brahman/Brahmin" 
are also borderline because the Indian-religious senses (or at least 
Western misinterpretations of them) are still quite current in English, 
even though the animal-husbandry and Boston-society senses would 
otherwise qualify.


--
Liland Brajant ROS'    		"Intla yajuanti quinitzquise cohuame o intla
P O Box 30091      		quiise se pajyo, ax quinchihuilis tleno."
Seattle, WA 98103 Usono		
Tel. (206) 633-2434  		(Aj aj aj!  Liland krokodiledas!)
