jungle

Where does the word "jungle" come from? It comes from Sanskrit jāṅgala, passing through Hindi before entering English (c. 1770s).

Jungle’s story begins in Sanskrit: jāṅgala meant “rough, arid terrain.” Originally described rough, dry, uncultivated land, not forest. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Hindi as jangal. Shifted to mean wasteland or wilderness generally. It reached English by c. 1770s as jungle. British colonists in India applied it to dense tropical forest. Today, jungle means a dense tropical forest, or a wild, chaotic place.

1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient jāṅgala "rough, arid terrain", originally described rough, dry, uncultivated land, not forest.
2. Stage 2 · Hindi · medieval jangal "wilderness", shifted to mean wasteland or wilderness generally.
3. Stage 3 · Anglo-Indian English · c. 1770s jungle "dense tropical forest", British colonists in India applied it to dense tropical forest.