Sinhala
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
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 edit
Noun edit
Sinhala (uncountable)
- The indigenous language of the majority people of Sri Lanka.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit
language — see Sinhalese
Proper noun edit
Sinhala
- (obsolete) The island of Sri Lanka.
- (Mahabharata) The kingdom in the island of Sri Lanka mentioned in the Mahabharata.
Further reading edit
- ISO 639-1 code si, ISO 639-3 code sin (SIL)
- Ethnologue entry for Sinhala, sin
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Sinhalese terms