Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·South Asia ·1780s
Bangle
from baṅglī
- Meaning
- A rigid bracelet.
- Source word
- baṅglī
- Route into English
- Hindi *baṅglī* (ornamental bracelet) → Anglo-Indian → English. Borrowed by British residents in the 18th century and never replaced by a native term.
- Arrived
- 1780s
From South Asia
Three centuries of British colonial contact — East India Company, Raj, military, domestic life — deposited a distinct Hindi/Urdu/Bengali/Sanskrit layer in everyday English.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.