nilgai

Where does the word "nilgai" come from? It comes from Hindi nil, passing through Hindi before entering English (1882).

Nilgai’s story begins in Hindi: nil meant “blue.” Meant 'blue'. Within Hindi, it grew into gai by medieval. Meant 'cow', from Sanskrit go. It reached English by 1882 as nilgai. The compound 'blue cow' named India's largest antelope, whose bulls have a blue-grey coat. Today, nilgai means the largest antelope of Asia, native to India, with males having a distinctive blue-grey coat.

1. Stage 1 · Hindi · medieval nil "blue", meant 'blue'.
2. Stage 2 · Hindi · medieval gai "cow", meant 'cow', from Sanskrit go.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1882 nilgai "India's largest antelope, with a blue-grey coat in males", the compound 'blue cow' named India's largest antelope, whose bulls have a blue-grey coat.