jhow

jhow

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi झाऊ (jhāū), from Sanskrit झावु (jhāvu).

Noun

jhow (uncountable)

1. (East India) A species of grassy tamarisk shrub, Tamarix indica, common in river-marshes.
   • 1847, William Griffith, Journals of travels in Assam, Burma, Bootan, Affghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries, p. 318:

     The river remains most uninteresting: the banks are low and covered chiefly with Jhow.

   • 1984, Thomas Claverhill Jerdon, A Handbook of the Mammals of India, p. 263:

     It is very abundant in Bengal, in many parts near the foot of the Himalayas, in Deyra Doon, and near the Ganges, Jumna, Sutlej, and other large rivers, frequenting chiefly long grass and jhow jungle.

   • 2015, Ranjita Biswas, translating Arupa Patangia Kalita, Written in Tears, Harper Perennial 2015, p. 53:

     If you asked her where she learnt them, she would only laugh, her body shaking with laughter like jhow grass swaying in the wind.

Alternative forms

• jhau, jow