Etymology
Assamese: দেশী, Bengali: দেশি, Gujarati: દેશી, Hindi: देसी, Kannada: ದೇಸಿ, Malayalam: ദേശി, Marathi: देशी, Nepali: डिसी, Oriya: ଦେଶୀ, Punjabi: ਦੇਸੀ, Tamil: தேசி, Telugu: దేశీయుడు, Urdu: دیسی, Malay: desa
This ethnonym belongs in the endonymic category (i.e. it is a self-appellation). Desi originates from the Sanskrit word (Sanskrit: देश) deś- ("region, province, country"). The first known usage of the Sanskrit root is found in the Natya Shastra (~200 BC), where it defines the regional varieties of folk performing arts, as opposed to the classical, pan-Indian margi. Thus, (Sanskrit: स्वदेश) swadeś refers to one's own country or homeland, while (Sanskrit: परदेश) pardeś refers to another's country or a foreign land. "Desi" is a diverse term that can signify anyone with South Asian ancestry.
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
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