gymkhana
jim-KAH-nuh · noun
HindustaniEnglish
Origin
Gymkhana comes from Hindustani گیند خانہ / गेंदख़ाना (gendxānā), meaning "racquet court," itself built from gend ("ball") and xānā ("court, house").
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Journey
As the word moved into English, its form was reshaped by the sound of "gymnastics" and "gymnasium," pulling it toward the gym- spelling we use today even though it has no real root connection to those words.
Related words
Its resemblance to "gymnasium" is a coincidence of sound rather than shared history.