Jungle — Lexography

Journey of meaning

4 forms

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The jungle journey, in text

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जङ्गल · Sanskrit
noun · Sanskrit
Transliteration: jaṅgala
Arid, sterile or sparsely wooded land.. Arid, sterile or sparsely wooded land.
Date not yet researched — No word-specific date established in the inspected sources.
Sanskrit reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English jungle is traced to Sanskrit जङ्गल (jaṅgala), “arid or sterile region, desert,” from an unknown substrate. English > Etymology
The English entry gives Hindustani Hindi जंगल (jaṅgal) and Urdu جنگل (jaṅgal) as the immediate source area. English > Etymology
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Sanskrit. LanguageTable row sans1269
जंगल · Hindi
noun · Hindi
Transliteration: jaṅgal
Forest, wilderness or uncultivated land.. Forest, wilderness or uncultivated land.
Date not yet researched — No word-specific date established in the inspected sources.
Hindi reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English jungle is traced to Sanskrit जङ्गल (jaṅgala), “arid or sterile region, desert,” from an unknown substrate. English > Etymology
The English entry gives Hindustani Hindi जंगल (jaṅgal) and Urdu جنگل (jaṅgal) as the immediate source area. English > Etymology
English jungle is attested in 1776 for dense growth and tangled vegetation in parts of India. jungle(n.)
The English entry supplies the modern jungle reading. English > Pronunciation
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Hindi. LanguageTable row hind1269
jungle · English
noun · English
Reading: JUNG-guhl
Dense growth of trees and tangled vegetation.. Dense growth of trees and tangled vegetation.
1776 · English vegetation sense — Reported first English context; not the date of the Indic source.
English reference region / Britain — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
The English entry gives Hindustani Hindi जंगल (jaṅgal) and Urdu جنگل (jaṅgal) as the immediate source area. English > Etymology
English jungle is attested in 1776 for dense growth and tangled vegetation in parts of India. jungle(n.)
The English entry supplies the modern jungle reading. English > Pronunciation
The figurative wild-mass sense is attested by 1850 and a lawless-place sense by 1906. jungle(n.)
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English. LanguageTable row stan1293
jungle · English
noun · English
Reading: Reading not yet researched
A wild, tangled mass or a place perceived as lawless and difficult.. A wild, tangled mass or a place perceived as lawless and difficult.
c. 1850–1906 · figurative English senses — Two reported semantic contexts are grouped as a bounded period.
English reference region / Britain — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
The figurative wild-mass sense is attested by 1850 and a lawless-place sense by 1906. jungle(n.)
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English. LanguageTable row stan1293

Relationships

jaṅgala → jaṅgal: inheritance, documented. Hindustani jaṅgal continues the Sanskrit form in the reported route. English > Etymology English > Etymology

jaṅgal → jungle: borrowing, documented. English jungle is borrowed from Hindustani. English > Etymology jungle(n.)English > Pronunciation

jungle → jungle: semantic-change, documented. The vegetation noun extends metaphorically to tangled masses and lawless places. jungle(n.)

Inspect the evidence 9 claims

Open a claim to follow the source and our interpretation.

01Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Sanskrit.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row sans1269
Source passage
Reference record
sans1269 · Sanskrit · Latitude 20.0 · Longitude 77.0
LanguageTable row sans1269; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient Sanskrit reference region; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
02English jungle is traced to Sanskrit जङ्गल (jaṅgala), “arid or sterile region, desert,” from an unknown substrate.
Source
Wiktionary — jungleWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Etymology
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
English jungle is traced to Sanskrit जङ्गल (jaṅgala), “arid or sterile region, desert,” from an unknown substrate.
English > Etymology
Qualification Qualified
The deeper substrate is not identified in the inspected source.
What Lexography infers
Stop at Sanskrit and preserve the unknown substrate rather than inventing a pre-Sanskrit stage.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
03Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Hindi.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row hind1269
Source passage
Reference record
hind1269 · Hindi · Latitude 25.0 · Longitude 77.0
LanguageTable row hind1269; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient Hindi reference region; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
04The English entry gives Hindustani Hindi जंगल (jaṅgal) and Urdu جنگل (jaṅgal) as the immediate source area.
Source
Wiktionary — jungleWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Etymology
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The English entry gives Hindustani Hindi जंगल (jaṅgal) and Urdu جنگل (jaṅgal) as the immediate source area.
English > Etymology
Qualification Source-supported
The cited section supports this bounded lexical statement; it does not establish every use, date or transmission event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
05Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row stan1293
Source passage
Reference record
stan1293 · English · Latitude 53.0 · Longitude -1.0
LanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient English reference region / Britain; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
06English jungle is attested in 1776 for dense growth and tangled vegetation in parts of India.
Source
jungle — EtymologyOnline Etymology Dictionaryjungle(n.)
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
English jungle is attested in 1776 for dense growth and tangled vegetation in parts of India.
jungle(n.)
Qualification Qualified
The date belongs to the English lexical context and not to the Sanskrit or Hindi stages.
What Lexography infers
Represent the English vegetation sense as a semantic narrowing/shift from the earlier Indic land term.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.
07The English entry supplies the modern jungle reading.
Source
Wiktionary — jungleWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Pronunciation
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The English entry supplies the modern jungle reading.
English > Pronunciation
Qualification Source-supported
The cited section supports this bounded lexical statement; it does not establish every use, date or transmission event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
08Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row stan1293
Source passage
Reference record
stan1293 · English · Latitude 53.0 · Longitude -1.0
LanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient English reference region / Britain; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
09The figurative wild-mass sense is attested by 1850 and a lawless-place sense by 1906.
Source
jungle — EtymologyOnline Etymology Dictionaryjungle(n.)
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The figurative wild-mass sense is attested by 1850 and a lawless-place sense by 1906.
jungle(n.)
Qualification Qualified
These later contexts are semantic developments within English, not new etymological sources.
What Lexography infers
Keep figurative extensions separate from the literal vegetation sense.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.