(pŭnˈjăbˌ, pŭn-jäbˈ)
A historical region of the northwest Indian subcontinent bounded by the Indus and Yamuna rivers. It was a center of the prehistoric Indus Valley civilization and after c. 1500 B.C. the site of early Aryan settlements. Muslims occupied the western part of the region by the 8th century, introducing Islam, and although they later conquered the eastern part, Hinduism remained entrenched there. The Moguls brought the region to cultural eminence until their empire declined in the 18th century. The Punjab was controlled by Sikhs from 1799 to 1849, when it was annexed by Great Britain. It was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947.
Word History: Punjab, a region of the northwest Indian subcontinent bounded by the Indus River in the west and the Yamuna in the east, comes through Hindi from Persian
panj-āb, “five rivers,” referring to tributaries of the Indus. Persian
panj is closely related to Hindi
pañc, pronounced (pŭnch), “five,” the source of our
punch, a drink that originally contained five ingredients. The Persian and Hindi words are descended from Indo-European
*penkwe, which appears in Greek as
pente, as in
pentagon, and in English as
five. The
āb in
panj-āb comes from the Indo-European root
*ap-, “water, river,” and is also found in our word
julep, which comes ultimately from Persian
gulāb, “rose water.”
