BENGALI

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Bengali mean? 

• BENGALI (noun)
  The noun BENGALI has 3 senses:

1. (Hinduism) a member of a people living in Bangladesh and West Bengal (mainly Hindus)

2. an ethnic group speaking Bengali and living in Bangladesh and eastern India

3. a Magadhan language spoken by the Bengali people; the official language of Bangladesh and Bengal

  Familiarity information: BENGALI used as a noun is uncommon.

• BENGALI (adjective)
  The adjective BENGALI has 1 sense:

1. of or relating to or characteristic of Bengal or its people

  Familiarity information: BENGALI used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BENGALI (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Hinduism) a member of a people living in Bangladesh and West Bengal (mainly Hindus)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Bengali" is a kind of...):

Asian; Asiatic (a native or inhabitant of Asia)

Domain category:

Hindooism; Hinduism (a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and based on a caste system; it is characterized by a belief in reincarnation, by a belief in a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils)

Holonyms ("Bengali" is a member of...):

Bangla Desh; Bangladesh; East Pakistan; People's Republic of Bangladesh (a Muslim republic in southern Asia bordered by India to the north and west and east and the Bay of Bengal to the south; formerly part of India and then part of Pakistan; it achieved independence in 1971. In local language, 'Bangladesh' means Land of the Bengalis ('Bangla' means Bengali, 'desh' means land or country))

Derivation:

Bengali (of or relating to or characteristic of Bengal or its people)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An ethnic group speaking Bengali and living in Bangladesh and eastern India

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("Bengali" is a kind of...):

ethnic group; ethnos (people of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture)

Derivation:

Bengali (of or relating to or characteristic of Bengal or its people)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A Magadhan language spoken by the Bengali people; the official language of Bangladesh and Bengal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Bangla; Bengali

Hypernyms ("Bengali" is a kind of...):

Magadhan (a subfamily of Indic languages)

Derivation:

Bengali (of or relating to or characteristic of Bengal or its people)

• BENGALI (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to or characteristic of Bengal or its people

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

Bengali hills

Pertainym:

Bengal (a region whose eastern part is now Bangladesh and whose western part is included in India)

Derivation:

Bengali (a Magadhan language spoken by the Bengali people; the official language of Bangladesh and Bengal)

Bengali (an ethnic group speaking Bengali and living in Bangladesh and eastern India)

Bengali ((Hinduism) a member of a people living in Bangladesh and West Bengal (mainly Hindus))