bindi

noun

bin·​di ˈbin-dē How to pronounce bindi (audio)
plural bindis
: a mark (such as a red dot) or piece of jewelry worn on the middle of the forehead especially by Hindu women
Between her delicate eyebrows is a smudged crimson bindi.D. Thomas Minton
The bindi is placed between the eyebrows, the place of the sixth chakra (the seat of concealed wisdom).The Tempist
Henna tattoos and bindis, those decorative dots placed between the eyes, grace faces that have never seen beyond the American suburbs.Vivian McInerny

Examples of bindi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Satpathy is calm and clad in Odissi dress—elegant silks in deep mauve and bright blue, with wrist and ankle bracelets, hair pinned back, heavy makeup, and a large red bindi on her forehead. Jennifer Homans, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 Prior to that, in the 1990s, the ska artist turned pop star often wore a Hindu bindi and styled her hair in South African Bantu knots. Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bindi.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Hindi bindī, literally, "dot, mark" (or a cognate Indo-Aryan word), going back to the Middle Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit stem bindu- "drop, spot," of uncertain origin

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bindi was in 1872

Dictionary Entries Near bindi

Cite this Entry

“Bindi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bindi. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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