ٿوم

Sindhi

Etymology

Uncertain. It has been linked to Arabic ثُوم (ṯūm), فُوم (fūm);[1][2][3][4][5] however, this is possibly a folk etymology, as Arabic orthography is often preserved in Sindhi and [θ] > [s] (e.g. Arabic ثَابِت (ṯābit) ثابِتُ (s̱ābitu)). See also the other corrupted Arabic allium borrowing بَصَرُ (baṣaru, onion).

Cognates are confined to Northwestern Indo-Aryan and Western Indo-Aryan: Gojri تھُوم (thūm), Pahari-Potwari تُھوم (thūm), Punjabi ਥੋਮ / تھوم (thom), Saraiki تُھوم (thūm). Forms are also recorded in Gujarati[6] and Urdu[3] dictionaries, but these are not in common usage in those languages.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t̪ʰuːmə/, /t̪ʰuːmʊ/, [t̪ʰuːm]

Noun

ٿُومَ or ٿُومُ • (thūma or thūmuf or m (Devanagari थूम or थूमु)

  1. garlic

Usage notes

In colloquial Indian Sindhi, the Gujarati લસણ (lasaṇ) or Marathi लसूण (lasūṇ) may be used instead.

References

  1. ^ Khānu, Balocu (1960–1988), “ٿوم”, in Jāmiʻ Sindhī lughāta (in Sindhi), Hyderabad, Sindh: Sindhī Adabī Borḍ, page 498
  2. ^ Sindhi Language Authority (2025), “ٿوم”, in Online Sindhi Dictionaries[1]
  3. 3.0 3.1 تُھوم”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
  4. ^ تُھوم”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2026.
  5. ^ Mansel Longworth Dames (1922), “Thom”, in A text book of the Balochi language : consisting of miscellaneous stories, legends, poems and Balochi-English vocabulary[2], Lahore: Superintendent, Govt. Print.
  6. ^ ભગવતસિંહ [bhagvatsĩh] (1944), “થૂમ”, in ભગવદ્ગોમંડલ [bhagvadgomaṇḍal], India, page 4277.

Further reading

  • Parmanand, Mewaram (1910), “ٿوم”, in Sindhi-English Dictionary, Hyderabad, Sindh: The Sind Juvenile Co-operative Society, page 276
  • Shirt, George; Thavurdas, Udharam; Mirza, S.F. (1879), “ٿوم”, in A Sindhi-English Dictionary, Karachi: Commissioner's Printing Press, page 193