ঝিনুক

Bengali

Alternative forms

• ঝিনাই (jhinai), ঝিনেই (jhinei)

Etymology

Of non-Aryan substrate origin; probably from the same source as various Sanskrit words for mollusks or their characteristic shells: कम्बु (kambu, “shell, conch”), शम्बु (śambu, “mollusk shell”), शम्बूक (śambūka, “bivalve, snail”) (whence শামুক (śamuk)); and perhaps also related to Assamese জেলুক (zeluk, “snail”). For other sets of substrate borrowings, see চিংড়ি (ciṅṛi) and ডুমুর (ḍumur).

Pronunciation

• (Rarh) IPA^(key): /dʒʱinuk/, [ˈdʒʱinuk]

  Audio

  (file)

• (Dhaka) IPA^(key): /dʑʱinuk/, [ˈdʑʱinuk]

Noun

ঝিনুক • (jhinuk)

1. oyster; mussel; cockle; any bivalve
   1. bivalve or pearl shell

Derived terms

• ঝিনাইদহ (jhinaidoho)

Further reading

• Sen, Sukumar (1971) An Etymological Dictionary of Bengali: c. 1000-1800 A.D.‎^[1], Calcutta: Eastern Publishers, page 346.