Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • A historical region of India considered at various times to include only the upper Ganges River plateau or all of northern India from the Himalaya Mountains to the Deccan Plateau and from the Punjab to Assam. The term has also been applied to the entire Indian subcontinent.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun northern region of India where Hinduism predominates.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun obsolete the northern region of India, in which the predominant religion is Hinduism
  • proper noun an alternative name for India (the whole country)

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun northern region of India where Hinduism predominates

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Persian هند (hind, "India") + ستان (stān, "-stan")

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Examples

  • He describes the popularity and abundance of imported dried and fresh fruits in Hindustan generally and Delhi specifically.

    Connecting Histories in Afghanistan: Market Relations and State Formation on a Colonial Frontier 2008

  • Rather, they performed local roles for a number of extensive banking and commercial networks with resources concentrated in Hindustan and representatives spanning the old Silk Road and Indian Ocean circuits. 7 The high profile of Indian merchants in Afghanistan arises from their knowledge of and presence in the foreign markets where Afghan edibles were widely consumed.

    Connecting Histories in Afghanistan: Market Relations and State Formation on a Colonial Frontier 2008

  • Bernier, who wrote about his travels in Hindustan during the mid-seventeenth century, supports the claim of widespread consumption of Central Asian fruit in India.

    Connecting Histories in Afghanistan: Market Relations and State Formation on a Colonial Frontier 2008

  • Deccan, which make up the southern half of the Empire; the great plain which stretches southward from the Himalayas and constitutes what was formerly known as Hindustan; and a three-sided tableland which lies between, in the center of the empire, and is drained by a thousand rivers, which carry the water off as fast as it falls and leave but little to refresh the earth.

    Modern India William Eleroy Curtis 1880

  • The name "Hindu" comes from the word Hindustan, the word for riverland, and the birth of Hinduism was the merger of the Upanishadic and Vedic religious traditions in ancient India.

    Conservapedia - Recent changes [en] 2009

  • The name "Hindu" comes from the word Hindustan, the word for riverland, and the birth of Hinduism was the merger of the Upanishadic and Vedic religious traditions in ancient India.

    Conservapedia - Recent changes [en] 2009

  • The South African was a cheerleader for the Mumbai Indians and described her role as "like walking porn", a phrase the Hindustan Times repeated in a banner headline with relish.

    LeBron James apologises for calling journalist 'retarded' 2011

  • (HAL), the IJT, called the Hindustan Jet Trainer - 36 (HJT-36), is meant to replace the IAF's aging Kiran trainer that is currently used for the second stage of pilot training.

    The Hindu - Front Page 2010

  • The biggest apartheid the state observes is to exclude those who cry for Kauls, wear the colours of Ayodhya, love the wisdom of the civilisational heritage, dare to assert as Hindus in a land which is known as Hindustan too and struggle to live with dignity as Kauls.

    The Times of India Tarun Vijay 2009

  • Best of all, Mr. Shepherd was on the rest of the week, too, broadcasting from WOR's studio, the hour kicking off with his theme song, "Hindustan," which he often accompanied on a kazoo.

    From One Ralphie to Another Ralph Gardner Jr. 2010

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