Talk:دلهي

@Palaestrator verborum Do you think it would make more sense for it to come directly from Classical Persian? —Aryaman ^{(मुझसे बात करो)} 18:48, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

@Aryamanarora: If the Urdu is not from Classical Persian, as the English Delhi etymology says the etymology of the Hindustani is uncertain, yes. However for placenames it is nothing unusual that they get borrowed multiple times: Some writer borrows from Persian, the other directly from Urdu. These days it is probable that it is just an Urdu transcription. Place names usually do not really come from any language though because even if it they are most indirectly borrowed they still refer back to their original place. So if an Arab borrows from Persian, one might as well say that he knows from Persian the Urdu word which he borrows. Palaestrator verborum (loquier) 18:56, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

@Palaestrator verborum: Urdu is a bit complicated in this case. Pakistani Urdu generally uses دہلی (dehli), a Persian-borrowed form, while دلی (deli) is the "native" term that is still used in Indian Urdu (yes, that's a thing), and which was borrowed into Persian. Basically,

• Hindustani: दिल्ली (dillī) / دلی (deli)
  • → Persian: دهلی (dihlī → dehli)
    • → Urdu: دہلی‏ (dehli) (rarely used in Hindi, देहली (dehlī))

But you are right, I suppose placenames are different from other terms. —Aryaman ^{(मुझसे बात करो)} 19:08, 13 November 2017 (UTC)