Maithilin.adj.
/ˈmʌɪtᵻli/, U.S. /ˈmaɪtəli/ A. n.
A language of north-eastern India, one of the Bihari group of Indo-Aryan languages; the script used for this language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [noun] > Indo-European > Indo-Iranian > Indic > east-central > Bihari
Maithili1801
Bihari1882
1801 H. T. Colebrooke in Asiatick Researches 7 224 Mait'hila or Tirhutíya, is the language used in Mit'hílà.
a1823 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) XV. 191/1 The Mait'hila or Tirhútíya, which has great affinity, both in terms and the form of its characters, with its neighbour the Bengálé.
1881 G. A. Grierson Introd. Maithilí Lang. of N. Bihar i. ii. 8 Words derived direct from the Saṃskṛit, which were originally neuter, become masculine in Maithilí.
1928 Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. 1494/3 Many lyrics in Maithili script date from the 15th century.
1968 Encycl. Brit. III. 606/1 Maithili is the dialect of the old country of Mithila or Tirhut, famous from ancient times for its learning... The only dialect which has any real literature is Maithili.
1992 D. Crystal Encycl. Dict. Lang. & Langs. 43 They [sc. varieties of Bihari] comprise Bhojpuri (c. 30 million) in the west, and Maithili (c. 20 million) and Magahli (c. 10 million) in the east.
B. adj.
Of or relating to the Maithili language or script.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [adjective] > Indo-European > Indo-Iranian > Indic > northern Indian
Hindki1815
Sindhi1836
Dogri1875
Maithili1881
Hindko1883
Malvi1927
1881 G. A. Grierson Introd. Maithilí Lang. of N. Bihar i. i. 5 The Maithilí character is nearly the same as Bangálí, differing only in one or two letters.
1948 D. Diringer Alphabet ii. vi. 365 The Oriya, Maithili and Early Manipuri characters seem…to be somewhat connected with the Bengali script.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1801