Nandi

See also: nandi

English

Etymology 1

From Sanskrit नन्दि (nandi).

Noun

Nandi (plural Nandis)

1. (Hindu mythology) The name of a bull used as a mount by the god Shiva, or a representation of this bull. [from 19th c.]
   • 2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 3:

     The Shiva temple […] had the requisite ten or twelve steps, a platform, and a Nandi.

Related terms

• Nandinagari

Etymology 2

From Kalenjin.

Noun

Nandi (plural Nandis)

1. (uncountable) A subgroup of the Kalenjin ethnic group of East Africa, traditionally living in the highland areas of the Nandi Hills in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. [from 20th c.]
2. (countable) A member of this group.
   • 1911, James George Frazer, chapter V, in Taboo and the Perils of the Soul (The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion; II), third edition, London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, page 310:

     A Nandi who is starting on a journey will tie a knot in grass by the wayside, as he believes that by so doing he will prevent the people whom he is going to visit from taking their meal till he arrives, or at all events he will ensure that they leave enough food over for him.

Proper noun

Nandi

1. The Nilotic language spoken by this group.

Etymology 3

Proper noun

Nandi

1. Former spelling of Nadi, Fiji.

Further reading

• ISO 639-3 code niq (SIL)
• Ethnologue entry for Nandi, niq ⁠

Anagrams

• Danni, Diann, dinna, indan