# India

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈɪndiːə/ · frequency rank #970

## Definitions
1. A country in South Asia. Official name: Republic of India. Capital: New Delhi.
2. A region of South Asia, traditionally delimited by the Himalayas and the Indus river; the Indian subcontinent.
3. A territory of the British Empire, chiefly comprising the modern day countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Burma.
4. A female given name.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš
Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš
Sanskrit सिन्धु॑ (síndhu)bor.
Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš)bor.
Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)
Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía)bor.
Latin Indiabor.
Old English Indea
English India
Inherited from Old English India, Indea, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía), from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós, “Indus river”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš), from Sanskrit सिन्धु (sindhu), ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš (“river”).
Compare Middle English Inde and Ynde from Old French Ynde (original form started to prevail in the 16th century), Classical Persian هند (hind, “India”), Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu, “a river, stream”).

## Easily confused with
- **Indy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indy)
- **Indo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indo)
- **init** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-init)
- **inga** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-inga)
- **inna** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-inna)
- **indie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indie)
- **Indus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indus)
- **Inuit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-inuit)
- **infra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-infra)
- **Indra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indra)
- **innit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-innit)
- **indio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indio)
- **Indian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indian)
- **Indies** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indies)
- **indigo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indigo)
- **Indira** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indira)
- **indica** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indica)
- **indict** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indict)
- **Indiana** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/india-vs-indiana)
- **Ind** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ind-vs-india)

## Common misspellings (6)
`idnia`, `indai`, `inddia`, `inida`, `inndia`, `nidia`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/india