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Punjab

Pronunciation: /pʌnˈdʒɑːb, ˈpʌndʒɑːb, pʊn-/
(also the Punjab)
Definition of Punjab
  • a region of NW India and Pakistan, a wide, fertile plain traversed by the Indus and the five tributaries which gave the region its name.
  • a province of Pakistan; capital, Lahore.
  • a state of India; capital, Chandigarh. Until 1966 the Punjab also encompassed what is now the state of Haryana.

The region became a centre of Sikhism in the 15th century and, after the capture of Lahore in 1799 by Ranjit Singh, a powerful Sikh kingdom. It was annexed by the British in 1849 and became a part of British India. In the partition of 1947 it was divided between Pakistan and India

Origin:

Hindi Panjāb, from Persian panj 'five' + āb 'water'

Punjab in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of Punjab in the US English dictionary

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