Many Indian words, mainly from Sanskrit and Persian, were absorbed into the English language during the days of the British Raj. Some of them are easily recognisable as Indian words.

There are others, though, which are seldom recognised as being of Indian origin. Most of these words were assimilated between the 16th and 20th centuries when the British, French and Portuguese were pursuing an aggressive colonial policy.

As a result, some words have come to English from French and Portuguese, which in turn had been absorbed from a native Indian language.

Here are some modern English words which have their roots in India.

Anaconda: A large non-venomous snake of tropical South America that kills its prey by suffocating in its coils. Alteration of Sinhalese henakandaya, a whip snake.

Bandana: A large handkerchief usually figured and brightly coloured. From the Hindi bandhunu (tie dyeing) and Sanskrit bandhana (to tie). This word was absorbed into the Portuguese language in the 17th century and subsequently came into English.

Bungalow: Derived from the Hindi bangala, a thatched or tiled one-storey house surrounded by a wide veranda.

Catamaran: A boat with two parallel hulls, especially a light sailboat, with a mast mounted on a transverse frame joining the hulls: Derived from Tamil kattumaram: kattu: to tie + maram: wood flog

Cheroot: Comes from the French cheroute, which owes its roots to the Tamil curuttu/churuttu/shuruttu: a roll of tobacco. This word was absorbed into the French language in 16th century, when the French were trying to get a foothold in South India.

Gymkhana: Any of various meets at which contests are held to test the skill of the competitors, as in equestrian, gymnastics or sports car racing. The word comes from Hindi gend-khana: race court (gend- ball + khana ? house).

Juggernaut: An overwhelming, advancing force that crushes or seems to crush everything in its path. The word is derived from the Hindu deity Jagannath.

Pariah: A social outcast. From the Tamil pariah, a caste name which means ?hereditary drummer?. First recorded in English in 1613.

Palanquin: Describes a covered litter carried on poles on the shoulders of two or four men comes from the Portuguese palanquim. This owes its origins to Pali pallanko and Sanskrit paryankah, meaning a couch or bed. The word is there in Javanese, pelangki. Note the striking resemblance to the word palki.