Meanings
nounIndianism (countable and uncountable, plural Indianisms)
plural Indianisms
- countablerhetoricuncountableA word or phrase peculiar to a language spoken in India, such as Indian English.
What this means is that academic interest in Indian English lexis has been largely confined to "Indianisms".
2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes, page 305 - South AmericacountableuncountableThe idealized portrayal of indigenous people as national heroes.
Origin
- Old FrenchInde
- Anglo-Normanindien
- Middle EnglishIndien
- EnglishIndian
- EnglishIndianism
From Indian + -ism. First attested in 1651.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Esperanto indianismo, indianismo
- indianismoword or phrase
- indianismoidealized portrayal
Polish indycyzm, indycyzm
- indycyzmword or phrase
- indycyzmidealized portrayal
Portuguese indianismo
- indianismoidealized portrayal
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Indianism
prismismschismchrismgrismABDLismabysmanglicismaspheterismBorisismBriticismBukharinismchrisomdiaperismepiphenomenalismFrenchismhypocorismquismrankismScotticism
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
Indianism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Indianism
MLA
“Indianism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Indianism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Indianism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Indianism.
Source: Indianism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.