Dictionary

mehndi en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈmɛndi/

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani मेहंदी (mehandī) / مہندی (mihandī), from Sanskrit मेन्धिका (mendhikā). First attested in the 19th century.

Meanings

1. (South-Asia, countable) A henna plant (Lawsonia inermis).
2. (South-Asia, uncountable) The preparation of this plant used for dyeing.
   • She was thirteen, a young bride whose small palms had been stained burgundy with mehndi for a man she knew nothing about, not even his name. 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 53:
   • The first lot to be put up was a tin of sugar biscuits and a jar of ‘mendy’, a pomade of native origin for dyeing the hair black. 1973, JG Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur:
3. (South-Asia, uncountable) A temporary skin decoration made with henna.
4. (South-Asia, uncountable) The practice of applying such decoration, typically as part of a bride or groom's preparations for a wedding.
   • Then came the Mehndi ceremony – where henna is painted on the bride's hands and feet, and the bride and groom's family try to outdo each other in singing and dancing. 2010 April 20, Homa Khaleeli, “Simon Cowell's four weddings – overdoing it?”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2025:

Forms

Synonyms

mehendi · henna tattoo

wikidata: Q10521987 · wikidata: Q769843