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The name ''India'' may refer to either the region of Greater India (the Indian subcontinent) or to the contemporary Republic of India located therein. The name is derived from the name of the Sindhu (Indus River) and has been in use in Greek since Herodotus (4th century BC). The term appeared in Old English as early the 9th century and reemerged in Modern English in the 17th century. The Republic of India has two principal short names in both official and popular English usage, each of which is historically significant, ''India ''and ''Bharat. ''The first article of the Constitution of India states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states," implicitly codifying ''India'' and ''Bharat'' as equally official short names for the Republic of India. A third name, ''Hindustan'', is a historical term for the north and northwestern subcontinent (especially during the British India period) that is now widely used as an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern nations of the subcontinent when Indians speak among themselves. The usage of ''Bharat'', ''Hindustan'' or ''India'' is dependant on the context and language of conversation. According to the ''Manusmṛti'' (2.21–22) North India (i.e., India north of the Vindhyas) is also known as Āryāvarta (Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त, "abode of the Aryans).〔Madhav Deshpande, (''Sanskrit & Prakrit: Sociolinguistic Issues'' ), Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, p. 85.〕 ==India== The English term is from Greek (''Indía''), via Latin ''India''. ''Indía'' in Koine Greek denoted the region beyond the Indus () river in the Indian Subcontinent, since Herodotus (5th century BC) , ''hē Indikē chōrē''; "the Indian land", , ''Indos'', "an Indian", from Old Persian ''Hinduš'' and listed as a conquered territory by Darius I in the Persepolis terrace inscription).〔Hudson, John C., ed., Goode’s World Atlas 20th Edition Chicago, Illinois, USA:2000—Rand McNally Map Page 203 Major Languages of India—map of the ethnolinguistic groups of India〕 The name is derived ultimately from ''Sindhu'', the Sanskrit name of the river, but also meaning "river" generically. Latin ''India'' is used by Lucian (2nd century). The name ''India'' was known in Old English, and was used in King Alfred's translation of Orosius. In Middle English, the name was, under French influence, replaced by ''Ynde'' or ''Inde'', which entered Early Modern English as ''Indie''. The name ''India'' then came back to English usage from the 17th century onwards, and may be due to the influence of Latin, or Spanish or Portuguese. Sanskrit ''indu'' "drop (of Soma)", also a term for the Moon, is unrelated, but has sometimes been erroneously connected, listed by, among others, Colonel James Tod in his ''Annals of Rajputana''. Todd describes ancient India as under control of tribes claiming descent from the Moon, or "Indu" (referring to Chandravanshi Rajputs). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Names of India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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