sambar
UK[ˈsæmbɑː]US[ˈsæmbɑːr]
n
a large deer native to South and Southeast Asia, with a dark brown coat and simple antlers in the male.
n
a spicy South Indian lentil and vegetable stew.
Etymology
the word 'sambar' for the deer entered english in the late 17th century, borrowed from hindi 'sābar' or marathi 'sāmbār'. these indian terms likely derive from the sanskrit 'śambara', referring to a specific kind of deer or antelope. the identical spelling for the lentil stew comes from the tamil word 'cāmpār', a culinary term of dravidian origin. this is a classic case of homonymy, where two distinct words from different indian languages converged into the same english spelling, representing a large animal and a flavorful dish, with no etymological connection to each other.
Analysis
this word is a loanword, borrowed directly from a source language into english without being formed from recognizable english or classical morphemes. therefore, it is not segmentable.
Examples
a sambar was spotted drinking from the waterhole at dusk.
for dinner, she prepared a delicious sambar with okra and drumsticks.
the sambar's antlers are typically three-tined and can be quite imposing.