Lakh
A lakh (/læk, lɑːk/; abbreviated L; sometimes written Lac[1] or Lacs) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105).[2][1][3] In the Indian convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For example, in India 150,000 rupees becomes 1.5 lakh rupees, written as ₹1,50,000 or INR 1,50,000.
It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is often used in Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan English. In Pakistan, the word lakh is used mostly in local languages rather than in English media.[citation needed]
Contents
1 Usage
1.1 Money
1.2 Silver market
2 Etymology and regional variants
2.1 South Asian languages
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
Usage
In Indian English, the word is used both as an attributive and non-attributive noun, and with either a marked ("-s") or unmarked plural, as in: "1 lakh people" or "1 lakh of people"; "200 lakh rupees"; "5 lakh of rupees"; "rupees 10 lakh"; or "5 lakh of rupees". In the abbreviated form, usage such as "₹5L" (for "rupees 5 lakh") is common.[citation needed] In this system of numeration 100 lakh is called one crore and is equal to 10 million.
Money
In colloquial Urdu, especially in the city of Karachi, the word peti ("suitcase") is also used to denote one lakh rupees. This originated during the General Zia era, when the largest denomination of currency was the 100 rupee note, and one lakh rupees would fill a small suitcase (peti as in Bombay Hindi). Hence, even after the Zia era, one peti has continued to mean one lakh rupees.[citation needed]
The word lakhi is commonly used throughout Tanzania to denote 100,000 shillings and is likely to have entered the Swahili language from Indian and Pakistani immigrants.[citation needed]
Silver market
The term is also used in the pricing of silver on the international precious metals market, where one lakh equals 100,000 troy ounces (3,100 kilograms) of silver.[4][5]
Etymology and regional variants
The root of the word lakh might be the Pali lakkha (masculine noun, "mark, target, stake in gambling"), from which the numerical meaning, "one hundred thousand" is derived.[6] Another possible root could be the Sanskrit laksha (Devanagari: लक्ष lakṣa), which has similar meanings in that language.[citation needed]
South Asian languages
Assamese: লাখ lakh
Bengali: লাখ lakh or লক্ষ lokkho
Dhivehi: ލައްކަ lakka
Gujarati: લાખ lākh
Hindi: लाख lākh
Bombay Hindi: पेटी peṭi
(Peṭi refers to a briefcase. That is, the amount of money in ₹ 100 notes that can fit into a briefcase.)
Kannada: ಲಕ್ಷ laksha
Kashmiri: lach
Konkani: लाख lākh or ಲಕ್ಷ lakṣa
Malayalam: ലക്ഷം laksham
Marathi: लाख lākh or लक्ष lakṣa
Nepali: लाख lākh
Odia: ଲକ୍ଷ lôkhyô
Pashto: لاکھ lakh
Punjabi: ਲੱਖ/لکھ lakkh
Romani: लाख lakh
Sanskrit: लक्ष lakṣá
Sindhi: لک lakhu
Sinhalese: ලක්ෂ laksha
Tamil : லட்சம் laṭcham
Telugu: లక్ష lakṣha
Tulu: ಲಕ್ಷ laksha
Urdu: لاکھ lākh
See also
Crore (= 100 lakh)- Myriad
- Names of large numbers
- Names of numbers in English
References
^ ab Rowlett, Russ (2008-12-15) [1998]. "lakh". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2016-08-29..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "lakh". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1933.
^ Lange, Norbert Adolph (1973) [1934]. Dean, John Aurie, ed. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (11 ed.). New York, USA: McGraw-Hill Book Company. p. 3-16. ISBN 0-07-016190-9. Retrieved 2016-08-28.Prefixes for Naming Multiples and Submultiples of Units: […] The prefix "myria" is sometimes used for 104 and "lakh" for 105.
^ Gilkes, Paul (3 July 2017). "CME Group/Thomson Reuters step down from executing the London silver fix". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
^ "Units of Measure". perthmint.com.au. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
^ Turner, Sir Ralph Lilley (1985). "lakṣá10881". A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages. London: Oxford University Press, 1962-1966. Includes three supplements, published 1969-1985. Digital South Asia Library, a project of the Center for Research Libraries and the University of Chicago. p. 629. Archived from the original on 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2010-08-22.lakṣá10881 lakṣá masculine ʻ stake, prize ʼ R̥gveda, ʻ mark, sign ʼ Mahābhārata, ʻ 100,000 ʼ Yājñavalkya, ʻ aim ʼ Kālidāsa, lakṣya— neuter, masculine ʻ aim ʼ Muṇḍ Upaniṣad, ʻ prize ʼ Mahābhārata, ʻ 100,000 ʼ Mahābhārata, . [√lakṣ. For derivation from root to become numeral, see Addenda: Pali lakkha— masculine ʻ mark, target, stake in gambling ʼ; Oṛiyā lākha, nākha ʻ aim, distinguishing mark ʼ, lācha ʻ brand ʼ; Gujarātī lāchɔ masculine ʻ burning the feet ʼ; Marāṭhī lās masculine ʻ mark made by cautery ʼ, neuter.]
External links
IINRG, Ranchi. "Government Organisation".
