See also: Etymology of the names of India

Word Hindu is derived from Sanskrit word Sindhu (Sanskrit: सिन्धु). The word "Hindu" is in medieval Persian "Hindo" representing the ancient Avestan hendava (Sanskrit, saindhava), a dweller on the Sindhu River (a.k.a. Indus). Using the word "Hindu" for "Sindhu", they referred to the people who lived near or across the Sindhu river and they called land further to Sindhu river as "Hindostan" (Modern Persian: Hindustan) . The religion of the Indians (mispronounced as Hindus)^[12] later became known as "Hinduism" to outsiders, whereas Indians had no one term for their diverse set of religious practices. Eventually the word "Hindu" came into common use among Hindus themselves,^[2] and was adopted into Greek as Indos and Indikos ("Indian"), into Latin as Indianus.^[13] and into Sanskrit, as Hindu, appearing in some early medieval texts (e.g. Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Kālikā Purāṇa, Rāmakośa, Hemantakavikośa and Adbhutarūpakośa)^{[citation needed]}