jungle (English)

Where does "jungle" come from?

The English word 'jungle' was borrowed from Hindustani 'jaṅgal'[1]. This term finds its roots in the Sanskrit 'jaṅgala', which originally described a landscape as 'arid, sterile, or desert'[1][2]. The word first appeared in English around 1776 in a translation by Nathaniel Halhed[1]. The modern definition, which often refers to the fast paced drumming associated with traditional peoples of the jungle, is a much later semantic extension of this original geographical term.

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Sanskrit term is believed to be from a substrate language, possibly Dravidian or Munda, though this remains an area of scholarly discussion. [2]

Full etymology tree

• jungle (English), 'resembling the fast-paced drumming of traditional peoples of the jungle.'
  • borrowed जंगल (jaṅgal) (Hindi), 'forest, woods'
    • inherited जङ्गल (jaṅgala) (Sanskrit), 'arid, sterile, desert (L.)'

Ancestors

• जङ्गल (Sanskrit)

Sources

1. jungle (English) - Wiktionary
2. जङ्गल (jaṅgala) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris