sandalwood
- 01 C2 Proficiency
a nickname for the Kannada-language movie industry based in Bengaluru, India.
a metonym for the Kannada cinema industry, following the naming convention of Hollywood and Bollywood.
Simple“Many famous actors in Sandalwood started their careers in local theatre.”
In context“Recent high-budget productions have significantly increased the global visibility of Sandalwood within the Indian film market.”
UsageUsually capitalized as a proper noun in this sense.
Teacher's tipThis is a regional term used mostly in South Asia; learners should be aware of other 'wood' suffixes like Bollywood or Tollywood.
Synonymskannada cinema
“She recommends fragrances such as sandalwood, cedarwood, cinnamon and cardamom as they "are perfect for bringing a sense of comfort into the home".”
From sandal + wood, the first component being from Middle English sandal (“sandalwood”), from Medieval Latin sandalum, from Byzantine Greek σάνδανον (sándanon), σάνταλον (sántalon), from Arabic صَنْدَل (ṣandal), from Middle Persian [script needed] (cndl /čandal/, “sandalwood”), from Sanskrit चन्दन (candana, “sandalwood”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.