Sinhala
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Sinhalese සිංහල (siṁhala), itself borrowed from Sanskrit सिंहल (siṃhala, literally “lionlike”), from सिंह (siṃhá, “lion”) + -ल (-la), recorded as the name of the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from about the 10th to 12th century, but presumably older, as it is also the source of the name Ceylon in western geographic tradition.
The name is sometimes glossed as "abode of lions", referring to a supposed former abundance of lions on the island ( The Asiatic Journal 20 (1836), p. 30). Doublet of Ceylon and Elu.
Pronunciation
Noun
Sinhala (uncountable)
- Synonym of Sinhalese (“language”).
Translations
language — see Sinhalese
Proper noun
Sinhala
- (obsolete) The island of Sri Lanka.
- (Mahabharata) The kingdom in the island of Sri Lanka mentioned in the Mahabharata.
Further reading
- ISO 639-1 code si, ISO 639-3 code sin (SIL)
- Ethnologue entry for Sinhala, sin
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Sinhalese terms
