Cucumber poisoning in Indian literature
Met a colleague today who suffered from symptoms of Cucurbitacin poisoning by pumpkin. I was wondering how as a kid, I learned never to eat a Khira खीरा (cucumber) without cutting the upper end, and rubbing it with some salt. 1/n This rubbing produced a white foam like substance. which was washed away, before cutting the Khira. I realized this knowledge about Cucurbitacin was even mentioned in poetry of 16th century poet Rahim. 2/

Idioms Based on Coriander
In Hindi, coriander is known as धनिया (dhaniyā), a word derived from the Sanskrit term धानेयक (dhāneyaka), meaning coriander. Over time, coriander has found its way into various idiomatic expressions that reflect human behavior, life situations,..1/n and cultural practices.
1. धनिये की खोपड़ी में पानी पिलाना (dhaniye kī khoprī mẽ pānī pilānā)
This phrase literally translates to "giving someone water to drink in a coriander husk." It implies tormenting someone or making their life miserable, ...2/n

Etymology of chaehal qadmī
Hindi/Urdu expression चहल-क़दमी chaehal qadmī (a short walk, a stroll) is a borrowed from Persian چ‍ﮩ‍ل قدمى chihal-qadamī where it means a walk; but originally refers to Muslim custom at the funerals of stepping back forty paces from the grave. 1/n

https://twitter.com/kamleshksingh/status/1844768610683695457

After the burial Al-Fātiḥa (the 1st chapter of Quran) is recited in the name of the deceased. And then they go about 40 paces away from the grave, they recite the Fatiha in the joint names of all the dead in the cemetery, this being known as the Da'ira or 'cemetery' Fatiha. 2/n

ṭaṇḍēl टंडेल: a fall from ''Captain'' of a ship to a 'vagabond'
In Hindi/Urdu spoken in eastern India, there is a verb ṭaṇḍēl karnā टंडेली करना (to wander around aimlessly). I lately realized this verb is related to a word from Laskari language taṇḍēl (petty officer).1/n

https://twitter.com/LanguageWala/status/1807673976719585486

In Laskari language (it was a Maritime language which evolved on ships plying in Indian ocean with words drawn from H/U, Malay, English, Chinese, Malayalam, Tamil etc.) the word taṇḍēl टंडेल itself came from a Dravidian language, most probably from Tulu or Telugu or Kannada.2/n

Bevaṛā बेवड़ा
Bevaṛā 'drunkard' is a Mumbai Hindi word of Portuguese origin. Portuguese word bêbado 'drunk, intoxicated; drunkard' derived from Latin verb bibere 'to drink', entered Konkani as bebdó बेबदो 'drunkard' (notice the dental d in the word). Konkani brought this...

https://twitter.com/mishradarsh/status/1804812711865332060

word to Marathi language as bebaḍā बेवडा which has two meanings in Marathi -
1. desi daru i.e. country liquor or Indian-made Indian liquor (IMIL)
2. a drunkard
The second meaning entered Mumbai Hindi as bevaṛā 'drunkard'.

Thank you Kawal ji for asking.
The word "non-vegetarian"(i.e. a person who eats meat; or something which contains meat) was not coined by any Indian! Its first known use was recorded in 1861 in the periodical "Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger,vol 2 (1861) published..1/n

https://twitter.com/TheKawalOberoi/status/1770333809176617446

London & edited by T.H. Baker. It is clear that this term is coined sometime in mid 19th century as @OED points it out. According to OED in 1864 2/n

Etymology of Rawalpindi پنجاب
Since someone asked me to write an etymology of Punjabi word pind ਪਿੰਡ (village). I thought why not write an etymology of the fourth most populous city of Pakistan - Rawalpindi. So here it is -
Rawalpindi is made up of two words rāwal + piṇdī 1/n Rawalpindi means the village of Rawals. The first element rāval in the name Rawalpindi रावलपिंडी is derived from the name of Jogi tribe who founded this village. This is recorded in Mughal emperor Jahangir's autobiography Tuzk-e-Jahangiri. 2/n

तिलांजलि tilāñjali : an intriguing tale of sesame seeds and death💀 [a long 🧵]
tilāñjali is a ritual in Hindu funeral rites when sesame seeds and water are offered to the dead as a libation. tilāñjali is made up of two words tila तिल (sesame) + añjali अंजलि (cup of hands). 1/n

https://twitter.com/PrashantProhit/status/1761289369229357345

In the idiomatic usage, tilāñjali conveys the sense of renouncing, relinquishing or giving up something or someone. Although it sounds like a Sanskrit word, it is not available in Sanskrit literature. 2/n

Chapri छपरी...a 🧵
I have been deliberating since last month on the Indian language term chapri छपरी which is used for "street side loafers" who follow deviant style of fashion, language and culture.
1/n The term Chapri is specially used for young Indian tiktokers, youtubers and instagrammers who have flooded the internet with their unique but sometimes cringe videos. 2/n

A language saved lives🧵
As we are hearing the inspiring story of human resilience from Colombia where four children aged 13, 9, 4 years and 11 months) survived their 40 days ordeal in Amazon jungle, a much ignored topic is how their indigenous language helped them survive. 1/n The 4 children who were travelling in that ill fated airplane were raised by their grandmother, Fatima Valencia, with whom they spoke in a variety of Witoto. Witoto/Uitoto is a family of Amazonian languages which are spoken by indigenous people in Colombia, Peru & Brazil. 2/n

History of mosquito 🦟 nets in India
One of the earliest non-violent methods used by humans to prevent biting insects and thereby vector borne diseases, is the use of mosquito screens, nettings and curtains.
1/n Contrary to popular perception of mosquito curtains or nettings being modern day innovations, mosquito screens/curtains have been in use in Egypt, China and India since time immemorial. 2/n

जयंती vs पुण्यतिथि jayaṁtī vs puṇyatithi
In Sanskrit Jayantī जयंती ( < जयंत) carries the sense of victorious, flag, Durga etc. It didn't have the birth anniversary (jubilee) sense in its original meaning. 1/5

https://twitter.com/me_s_h_u_b_h/status/1622223974733316097

The 8th day of the dark half of Śrāvaṇa month when
lord Kṛṣṇa कृष्ण was born came to be known as śrīkr̥ṣṇa jayantī श्रीकृष्ण जयन्ती. This later was extended to the birth celebrations of all noted personalities. 2/5

Two important markers of Hindi spoken by Indian Sindhis of older generation are:
💠 Frequent pronunciation of र r as ड़ ṛ as in karegā > kaṛegā
💠 Frequent use of negative particle nī नी as a tag question marker or a emphatic marker as in 'nayā contract bhī sign kar lo nī' 1/2 The example video above is from 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' (1993), where a Sindhi businessman Bijlani (played by Dilip Tahil) has been shown as manipulative & cunning man, but this is a typical stereotype of Sindhis who are peaceful, hardworking, hospitable, open-minded community2/2