The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jaṅgala (Sanskrit: जङ्गल), meaning rough and arid. It came into the English language via Hindi in the 18th century.[1][2] Jāṅgala has also been variously transcribed in English as jangal, jangla, jungal, and juṅgala.[citation needed] Although the Sanskrit word refers to dry land, it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its connotation as a dense "tangled thicket",[3] while others have argued that a cognate word in Urdu de