Punjab

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Look up Panjab in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Punjab or Panjab (etymologically the more accurate form) is derived from the medieval Persian language, in which it means "[land of] five rivers" (panj, "five"; āb, "water", cognate with Latin aqua, see OED, "Punjab"; Online Etymological Dictionary, "aqua-"), referring to five tributaries of the Indus river: the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Sutlej and the Beas.

The original English pronunciation, reflecting the indigenous pronunciation, is [pʌndʒɑːb] (see OED); but there is also a common spelling pronunciation [pʊndʒɑːb].

Punjab in its various forms may refer to:

[edit] Geographical regions

• Punjab region, an area of South Asia spanning from central Pakistan to north-western India
  • Punjab (India), the part of the Punjab which became part of India
  • Punjab (Pakistan), the part of the Punjab which became part of Pakistan
• Panjab District, Afghanistan
  • Panjab, Afghanistan, capital of Panjab District

In former countries, states and provinces:

• Sikh Empire (authoritative)/Punjab Empire (geographic), a former religious monarchy in the region.
• Punjab (British India), a former province of British India.
• Punjab Hill States Agency, an administrative unit of British India
• Punjab States Agency, an administrative unit of British India
• Patiala and East Punjab States Union, a former state of India
• East Punjab, the part of the Punjab which became part of India
• West Punjab, the part of the Punjab which became part of Pakistan

In other:

• Punjab lasso, a weapon made of cat gut used to strangle people, mentioned in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera
• Punjab, a character in the Little Orphan Annie comic strip, and the musical Annie

See also:

• Punjab Assembly (disambiguation)
• Punjabi language

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.