English Explanatory Dictionary

Sinhala

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Synonym of Sinhalese (“language”).
name
  1. The island of Sri Lanka.
  2. The kingdom in the island of Sri Lanka mentioned in the Mahabharata.

Pronunciation

/ˈsɪnhələ/ /sɪnˈhɑːlə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sumxr-Sinhala.wav

Word forms

Sinhala Cinghal

Etymology

Borrowed from Sinhalese සිංහල (siṁhala), itself borrowed from Sanskrit सिंहल (siṃhala, literally “lionlike”), from सिंह (siṃhá, “lion”) + -ल (-la), recorded as the name of the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from about the 10th to 12th century, but presumably older, as it is also the source of the name Ceylon in western geographic tradition. The name is sometimes glossed as "abode of lions", referring to a supposed former abundance of lions on the island ( The Asiatic Journal 20 (1836), p. 30). Doublet of Ceylon and Elu.

Synonyms

Sinhalese

Derived words

Singlish
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