name
Meaning 1
The island of Sri Lanka.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
Sinhala
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈsɪnhələ/
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/sɪnˈhɑːlə/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɑːlə
name
Meaning 2
The kingdom in the island of Sri Lanka mentioned in the Mahabharata.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Synonym of Sinhalese (“language”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Sinhalese
Antonyms: none provided
adjective
Meaning 4
of or relating to the Sinhalese languages
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the Sinhalese versions of the Ramayana
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Singhalese, Sinhalese
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
the Indic language spoken by the people of Sri Lanka
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Sinhalese, Singhalese
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: Sanskrit, Sanskritic language
History
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.
Real reading context