indies | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

1550s, from Spanish guaya, variant of guayaba, from Arawakan (West Indies) guayabo "guava tree" or Tupi guajava.

sort of vetch cultivated in the East Indies, 1690s, from Hindi dal "split pulse," from Sanskrit dala, from dal "to split."

okra (n.)

vegetable cultivated in the East and West Indies and southern U.S., 1670s, from a West African language (compare Akan nkruma "okra").

Timor

island in the East Indies, Malay (Austronesian) timur "east" (in reference to Java and Sumatra). Related: Timorese.

chutney (n.)

"compound of fruits and spices used as a condiment in the East Indies," 1813, said to be from Hindi chatni "to lick."

baobab (n.)

large tropical African tree (later transplanted and naturalized in the East and West Indies), 1630s, from Medieval Latin bahobab (1590s), apparently from a central African language.

black code (n.)

local or state legal restrictions on black persons, free or slave, 1774, American English, though the first reference is to French colonies in the West Indies.

Caribbean (adj.)

"of or pertaining to the Caribs," also "of the sea between the West Indies and the South American mainland," by 1750s, from Carib, indigenous people's name for themselves, + -ean.

bromeliad (n.)

one of a group of related plants indigenous to South America and the West Indies, from Modern Latin Bromeliaceæ, family name given by Linnæus, for Olaus Bromel (1639-1705), Swedish botanist. Related: Bromeliads.

Grenada

West Indies island, discovered by Columbus Aug, 15, 1498, and named by him Concepción, the place later was renamed for the old Spanish kingdom or city of Granada. Related: Grenadian.

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