Added 9 October 2026
jungle
/ˈd͡ʒʌŋ.ɡ(ə)l/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about jungle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A large, lush, undeveloped, humid forest, especially in a tropical region, thick with vegetation and wildlife; a tropical rainforest.
- Any uncultivated tract of forest or scrub habitat.
-
A place where people behave ruthlessly, unconstrained by law or morality.
It’s a jungle out there.
Origin
Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi जंगल (jaṅgal) / Urdu جَن٘گَل (jaṅgal)), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀚𑀁𑀕𑀮 (jaṃgala), from Sanskrit जङ्गल (jaṅgala, “arid or sterile region, desert”), from a substrate language. First appears c. 1776 in a translation by Nathaniel Halhed.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)