Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A group of Indic dialects including the spoken form of Hindi-Urdu that function as a lingua franca throughout much of northern and central India.
  • adjective Of or relating to Hindustan, its people, or the Hindustani language.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to the language called Hindustani: as, a Hindustani word. See II.
  • noun One of the languages of Hindustan, a form of Hindi which grew up in the camps of the Mohammedan conquerors of India, since the eleventh century, as a medium of communication between them and the subject population of central Hindustan.
  • noun Also spelled Hindoostance.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective of or pertaining to Hindustan or its inhabitants.
  • noun a native or inhabitant of Hindustan or India.
  • noun a form of Hindi spoken around Delhi. See Hindoostanee.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective dated Related to India, or historically the entire Indian subcontinent.
  • proper noun dated A person from India (historically the entire Indian subcontinent).
  • proper noun The name of the language which constitutes the Hindi and Urdu registers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to or characteristic of Hindustan or its people or language
  • noun a form of Hindi spoken around Delhi
  • noun a native or inhabitant of Hindustan or India

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Hindustani हिन्दुस्तानी / ہندوستانی (hindustānī), from Persian هند (hend = Hindu) + Persian ستان (stān = land) + adjective suffix ی (ī) resulting in (hendustānī = land of the Hindus), from hend is derived from Sanskrit सिन्धु (sindhu), Sanskrit name for the Indus River.

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Examples

  • Initially dressed in mini-skirts and tank tops, she gradually turned 'Hindustani' -- going from from blonde to black, changing from skirts to sarees.

    Daily News & Analysis 2009

  • 252 Lit. wrath; affliction which chokes; in Hindustani it means simply anger.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • Suriname Hindustani (a variant of Bhoqpuri), Javanese

    The 1994 CIA World Factbook United States. Central Intelligence Agency

  • The same may be said of Hindustani, which is the language of 100,000,000 inhabitants of British India; it shows wide dialectical variations and the people who speak it are not likely to spread.

    Chapter 12. The Future of the Language. 1. English as a World Language Henry Louis 1921

  • One of its principal dialects is the Hindustani, which is employed in the literature of the northern country.

    Handbook of Universal Literature From the Best and Latest Authorities Anne C. Lynch Botta 1853

  • David Boyk's vivid webpage Bollywood for the Skeptical presents a CD's worth of Indian movie-pop hits and if you think you don't like Indian pop music, check out the rockin' "Ina Meena Dika" [mp3] from the 1957 movie Aasha along with a brief introduction to the genre, but what brings it to LH is the section on language:Before Independence in 1947, a lot [of] people in the North actually spoke a related dialect called Hindustani, which was written in Arabic script regardless of religious community.

    languagehat.com: BOLLYWOOD LANGUAGE. 2004

  • Gandhi actually wanted "Hindustani" which is actually a mix of Urdu (the language spoken by Pakistanis) and Hindi.

    Why are South Indians so smart? Steve Sailer 2002

  • Hindustani which is best translated as dog, although it means infinitely more and worse; and having uttered it she smote him across the mouth with the flat of her hand and rose to her feet.

    Leonie of the Jungle Joan Conquest

  • Besides courses in various music forms such as Hindustani, Carnatic, folk, light, western and cinema, classes will be conducted in dance forms including Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak and dramatics.

    The Hindu - Front Page 2010

  • Besides courses in various music forms such as Hindustani, Carnatic, folk, light, western and cinema, classes will be conducted in dance forms including Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak and dramatics.

    The Hindu - Front Page 2010

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