Gentoo
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A non-Muslim inhabitant of India, a Hindu; specifically, in Southern India, an ethnic-Telugu. historical
"The Greeks, and all the Celtic nations, accordingly, burned the bodies of the dead, as the Gentoos do at this day; while the Egyptians, among whom fuel was extremely scarce, placed them in pyramidal monuments, which were the symbols of fire; hence come those prodigious structures which still adorn that country."
- 2 gentoo penguin
- 3 The gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua), a species of penguin.
- 1 The Telugu language. historical
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The Greeks, and all the Celtic nations, accordingly, burned the bodies of the dead, as the Gentoos do at this day; while the Egyptians, among whom fuel was extremely scarce, placed them in pyramidal monuments, which were the symbols of fire; hence come those prodigious structures which still adorn that country."
Etymology
Of Anglo-Indian origin (17th century), apparently a borrowing from Portuguese gentio (“heathen”) (compare gentile (“pagan”)).
Related phrases
More for "gentoo"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.