Indian

The term 'Indian' originates from the ancient Greek name for the Indus River, 'Indos', which itself was borrowed from Old Persian 'Hindu', a rendition of the Sanskrit 'Sindhu', the great river and the region surrounding it. European explorers, most notably Christopher Columbus, mistakenly applied this geographical term for South Asia to the indigenous peoples of the Americas upon his arrival in the Caribbean, believing he had reached the Indies. This historical misapplication created a dual meaning: the primary, correct sense referring to anything from the Republic of India, and a secondary, now often dated and problematic sense referring to the original inhabitants of the American continents.

The word is a simplex loanword. It originates from the Latin 'India', from Greek 'Indos', referring to the Indus River and the land beyond it, ultimately from Old Persian 'Hindu', referring to the Sindhu (Indus) River.