lakh
n. countablen. a unit in the Indian numbering system that equals one hundred thousand (100,000). People use it to talk about money or large groups of things.
n. a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand. Typically written as 1,00,000 with the comma after the first digit.
The new car costs five lakh rupees.
The charity raised over ten lakh for the new hospital wing during the weekend gala.
In South Asian financial reporting, figures are often expressed in lakhs and crores rather than millions, which can be confusing for those accustomed to Western grouping conventions.
Borrowed from Hindustani लाख or لاکھ (lākh), from Sanskrit लक्ष (lakṣa), from लक्ष् (lakṣ, “to mark; to sign; to observe, perceive”), possibly from रक्ष् (rakṣ, “to observe (a duty, law, etc.); to guard, protect”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂lek- (“to protect”).
Often used as an invariant noun when preceded by a number (e.g., 'five lakh' rather than 'five lakhs'), though both forms appear in Indian English.