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jun·gle

(jŭnggəl)

1. Land covered with a dense growth of tropical vegetation.

2. A dense thicket or growth.

3. A dense, confused mass; a jumble.

4. Something made up of many confused elements; a bewildering complex or maze: sorting through the jungle of regulations.

5. A place or milieu characterized by intense, often ruthless competition or struggle for survival: the corporate jungle.

6. Slang A place where hoboes camp.

[Ultimately from Sanskrit jaṅgalam, desert, wasteland, uncultivated area, from jaṅgala-, desert, waste.]

jungly (-glē) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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