Ceylon: (Now Sri Lanka). Hindustani "Silan" is derived from Pali "Sihalana" (Sanskrit "Sinha"), "the land of lions," from "sinha," "a lion." Its Aryan inhabitants were called Sinhalas. The old Sanskrit name of Ceylon is Lanka. Marco Polo calls it "Seilan," whence the Portuguese forms "Cilan" and "Ceilao," from the last of which comes the English term Ceylon.

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