दिल्ली

हिन्दी

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दिल्ली

/d̪ɪl.liː/ Hindi, Standard

Where it comes from

Unknown. Possibly from one of the following:

* Sanskrit डिल्लि (ḍilli), डिल्ली (ḍillī).

* Inherited from Apabhramsa ढिल्ली (ḍhillī), first attested in a literary work from 1132 CE).

* A feminine form of दिल (dil, “hillock”) that changed to दिल्ली (dillī) over time.

* A corrupted form of देहली (dehlī, “Delhi”) or दहलीज़ (dahlīz, “border”).

* From धिलु (dhilu) or दिलु (dilu), the name of a former king by tradition.

* Some sources also say that the word is related to a loose pillar termed ढील (ḍhīl), which is from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀠𑀺𑀮𑁆𑀮 (ḍhilla).

Compare Maharastri Prakrit 𑀠𑀺𑀮𑁆𑀮𑀻 (ḍhillī, “Delhi”), Old Gujarati ढीली (ḍhīlī, “Delhi”), and Old Marathi 𑘛𑘲𑘩𑘲 (ḍhīlī, “Delhi”).

proper noun dillī · دلّی · दिल्ली

feminine Delhi (a megacity and union territory of India, containing the national capital New Delhi) दिल्लीवाला ― dillīvālā ― Delhiite

In English

Delhi city in India

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"दिल्ली." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hi/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

दिल्ली. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hi/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80

Chicago

"दिल्ली." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hi/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80.

BibTeX

@misc{micwyn_2026,
  title = {दिल्ली},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hi/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}