territory of SE India, chiefly on the Coromandel Coast: before 1954 a part of French India: 190 sq mi (492 sq km); pop. 894,000
its capital: pop. 203,000
Fr. name
See Pondicherry in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(pŏnˌdĭ-chĕrˈē, -shĕrˈē)
A city of southeast India on the Bay of Bengal south-southwest of Chennai (Madras). It consists of four former French coastal settlements whose administration was transferred to India in 1954. Population: 220,000.