mehndi

• mendi, mendy

Borrowed from Hindustani मेहंदी (mehandī) / مہندی (mihandī), from Sanskrit मेन्धिका (mendhikā). First attested in the 19th century.

mehndi (countable and uncountable, plural mehndis) (South Asia)

2. (countable) A henna plant (Lawsonia inermis).
3. (uncountable) The preparation of this plant used for dyeing.
   • 1973, JG Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur:

     The first lot to be put up was a tin of sugar biscuits and a jar of ‘mendy’, a pomade of native origin for dyeing the hair black.

   • 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 53:

     She was thirteen, a young bride whose small palms had been stained burgundy with mehndi for a man she knew nothing about, not even his name.

5. (uncountable) A temporary skin decoration made with henna.

   Synonym: henna tattoo

6. (uncountable) The practice of applying such decoration, typically as part of a bride or groom's preparations for a wedding.
   • 2010 April 20, Homa Khaleeli, “(please specify the article title)”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     Then came the Mehndi ceremony – where henna is painted on the bride's hands and feet, and the bride and groom's family try to outdo each other in singing and dancing.