noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
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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India:/sʋəˈdeːʃi/
rhymes with -ɛʃi
1
noun
Meaning 1
A policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India, involving the revival and promotion of domestic production and (originally) the boycott of British products.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: India, also, attributive, uncountable
Topics: economics, government, politics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Alternative letter-case form of swadeshi.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
PIE word *swé Borrowed from Hindi स्वदेशी (svadeśī, “nationalist, patriotic; policy of nationalist self-sufficiency, swadeshi; proponent of the swadeshi movement”), from स्वदेश (svadeś, “one’s own country”) + -ई (-ī, suffix forming adjectives, or forming nouns meaning a person who does an action indicated by the stem). स्वदेश is derived from Sanskrit स्वदेश (svadeśa), from स्व (sva, “his or her own”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“(pronoun) self”)) + देश (deśa, “country; point, place”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to point out”)).
Across languages
Translations
13 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bengali:
স্বদেশী
(śodeśi)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Gujarati:
સ્વદેશી
(svadeśī)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Hindi:
स्वदेशी
(svadeśī)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Indonesian:
swadesi
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Kannada:
ಸ್ವದೇಶಿ
(svadēśi)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Malayalam:
സ്വദേശി
(svadēśi)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Newar:
चुतेचि
(cuteci)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Punjabi:
ਸਵਦੇਸ਼ੀ
(savdeśī)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Punjabi:
سودیشی
(sodeśī)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Sindhi:
سوديشي
(sodeśe)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Tamil:
சுதேசி
(cutēci)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Telugu:
స్వదేశీ
(svadēśī)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India
Urdu:
سودیشی
(sodeśī)
— policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India