sambar

S1A1M3B3A1R1

noun

A Southeast Asian deer (Rusa unicolor).

Similar
Cervus unicolorsambur
OriginHindi सांभर ← Sanskrit शम्बर →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

sambar1

nounsambar (plural sambars)

plural sambars · alternative sambhar · alternative sambhur · alternative sambur · alternative obsolete sambre

  1. biologyA Southeast Asian deer (Rusa unicolor).

    Synonyms: Cervus unicolor

sambar2

nounsambar (uncountable)
  1. uncountablecookingA food preparation common in southern India and Sri Lanka, made of vegetables and lentils (usually pigeon peas, also called toor dal) in a spicy tamarind and lentil flour soup base.

    A couple of vegetables, sambar (spicy and sour lentils and vegetables boiled with masalas and spices), rasam (a hot and fiery lentil soup-like dish) and curds (yoghurt) served with heaps of rice and eaten in that order. A non-vegetarian version of the “meals” can be found in “Military” hotels.

    2017 July 12, Sanjiv Khamgaonkar, “40 Mumbai foods we can’t live without”, in CNN

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA Southeast Asian deer (Rusa unicolor).

Similar
Cervus unicolor

More synonyms by meaning

nouna deer of southern Asia with antlers that have three tines

Similar
samburCervus unicolor
Broader
deercervid

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

sambar · noun

  1. Sanskritशम्बर“a kind of deer”
  2. Hindiसांभर
  3. Englishsambar

Borrowed from Hindi सांभर (sāmbhar), साँभर (sāmbhar), from Sanskrit शम्बर (śambara, “a kind of deer”).

More words from Hindi, Sanskrit

Full word history & related roots →

sambar · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-bʰor-ó-s
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranian*sambʰārás
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryan*sambʰārás
  4. Sanskritसम्भार“materials required for a particular purpose, provision; collection of spices”
  5. omrसांबार
  6. Marathiसांभार
  7. Tamilசாம்பார்
  8. Englishsambar

From Tamil சாம்பார் (cāmpār), from Marathi सांभार (sāmbhār)/सांबार (sāmbār, “curry”), from Old Marathi सांबार (sāṃbāra), from Sanskrit सम्भार (sambhārá, “materials required for a particular purpose, provision; collection of spices”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *sambʰārás, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sambʰārás, from Proto-Indo-European *sem-bʰor-ó-s, from *sem- (“together, one”) + *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”) + *-ós (deverbal suffix). Doublet of Anbar and ambar.

More words from Tamil, Marathi, omr

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic أيل السنبار
  • أيل السنبار (ayyal al-sinbār)large species of deer
Chinese Mandarin 水鹿
  • 水鹿 (shuǐlù)large species of deer
Finnish sambar
  • sambarlarge species of deer
German Sambar
  • Sambarlarge species of deer
Hindi साँबर, सांबर
  • साँबर (sāmbar)large species of deer
  • सांबर (sāmbar)large species of deer
  • सांभर (sāmbhar)large species of deer
  • साम्भर (sāmbhar)large species of deer
Japanese 水鹿, サンバー
  • 水鹿 (suiroku)large species of deer
  • サンバー (sanbā)large species of deer
Russian инди́йский замба́р
  • инди́йский замба́р (indíjskij zambár)large species of deer
Tamil கடமான்
  • கடமான் (kaṭamāṉ)large species of deer

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

abrams
Cite this entry
APA

sambar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sambar

MLA

“sambar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sambar. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sambar,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sambar.

Source: sambar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.