There are many words in Hindi for "white" and all are in day to day use. For example, I can think of these (apart from "safed"):
1) shwet श्वेत
2) dhawal धवल
3) gaur गौर
It appears that the word "gora" has come from this Sanskrit word "gaur".
More than this, here is a very good document which tries to trace the history of the word "white". [Ref] It tells:
The word "white" can be traced back all the way to Sanskrit through the word "cvit" (Oxford English Dictionary 263). "White" then came into Proto Indo-European as the word "kweid" or "kwid" and as the Indo-European languages divided and evolved the Proto-Germanic form of "white" became "hwitaz" (Barnhart 1233) and eventually the word came into Old English as "hwaIt" (Oxford English Dictionary 263). Through the evolution of the English language, the word became "whit" in Middle English.
Source: http://www.associatedcontent.
The word "whit" became ultimately the present day "white".
The word "shwet" is used in Hindi, coming directly from Sanskrit. For example:
बहेगा सरिता में जल श्वेत,
समुज्ज्वल दर्पण के अनुरूप,
देखकर जिसमें अपना रूप,
पीत कुसुम की चादर ओढ़ेंगे सरसों के खेत। [Ref] (here the poet uses the word shwet for water, meaning clear/pure)
and:
देखतीं आकाश आँखें!
श्वेत अक्षर पृष्ठ काला,
तारकों की वर्णमाला,
पढ़ रहीं हैं एक जीवन का जटिल इतिहास आँखें!
देखतीं आकाश आँखें! [Ref] (here the noted poet Harivansh Rai Bahchchan is expressing a dark sky with twinkling stars as a black paper and white (shwet) letters on it)
Even the word "dhawal" धवल is used many a time (now a days more often in literature). E.g. in his poem "बादल को घिरते देखा है।", the great poet Nagarjun writes:
अमल धवल गिरि के शिखरों पर,
बादल को घिरते देखा है।
छोटे-छोटे मोती जैसे
उसके शीतल तुहिन कणों को,
मानसरोवर के उन स्वर्णिम
कमलों पर गिरते देखा है,
बादल को घिरते देखा है। [Ref]
In the above lines, the poet uses the word "dhawal" धवल for "white" mountains. He even calls it "amal dhawal" where "amal" means "pure" or "without any impurity" and "dhawal" means "white". So the word "dhawal" indicates both the "color" white as well as the qualities of white depending on the way we want to use it.
It appears that the word "safed" सफ़ेद also came from the Sanskrit word "shwet" श्वेत: Here is the reference for this:
Wilford was quite right, as anyone might know who had the slightest acquaintance with the Persian and Hindustani, in which languages the word "safed", "sufet", "white", is clearly derived from the Sanskrit "Shwet".
Source: The Cambrian journal, Volume 3; By Cambrian Institute, Tenby, Wales [Ref]
1) shwet श्वेत
2) dhawal धवल
3) gaur गौर
It appears that the word "gora" has come from this Sanskrit word "gaur".
More than this, here is a very good document which tries to trace the history of the word "white". [Ref] It tells:
The word "white" can be traced back all the way to Sanskrit through the word "cvit" (Oxford English Dictionary 263). "White" then came into Proto Indo-European as the word "kweid" or "kwid" and as the Indo-European languages divided and evolved the Proto-Germanic form of "white" became "hwitaz" (Barnhart 1233) and eventually the word came into Old English as "hwaIt" (Oxford English Dictionary 263). Through the evolution of the English language, the word became "whit" in Middle English.
Source: http://www.associatedcontent.
The word "whit" became ultimately the present day "white".
The word "shwet" is used in Hindi, coming directly from Sanskrit. For example:
बहेगा सरिता में जल श्वेत,
समुज्ज्वल दर्पण के अनुरूप,
देखकर जिसमें अपना रूप,
पीत कुसुम की चादर ओढ़ेंगे सरसों के खेत। [Ref] (here the poet uses the word shwet for water, meaning clear/pure)
and:
देखतीं आकाश आँखें!
श्वेत अक्षर पृष्ठ काला,
तारकों की वर्णमाला,
पढ़ रहीं हैं एक जीवन का जटिल इतिहास आँखें!
देखतीं आकाश आँखें! [Ref] (here the noted poet Harivansh Rai Bahchchan is expressing a dark sky with twinkling stars as a black paper and white (shwet) letters on it)
Even the word "dhawal" धवल is used many a time (now a days more often in literature). E.g. in his poem "बादल को घिरते देखा है।", the great poet Nagarjun writes:
अमल धवल गिरि के शिखरों पर,
बादल को घिरते देखा है।
छोटे-छोटे मोती जैसे
उसके शीतल तुहिन कणों को,
मानसरोवर के उन स्वर्णिम
कमलों पर गिरते देखा है,
बादल को घिरते देखा है। [Ref]
In the above lines, the poet uses the word "dhawal" धवल for "white" mountains. He even calls it "amal dhawal" where "amal" means "pure" or "without any impurity" and "dhawal" means "white". So the word "dhawal" indicates both the "color" white as well as the qualities of white depending on the way we want to use it.
It appears that the word "safed" सफ़ेद also came from the Sanskrit word "shwet" श्वेत: Here is the reference for this:
Wilford was quite right, as anyone might know who had the slightest acquaintance with the Persian and Hindustani, in which languages the word "safed", "sufet", "white", is clearly derived from the Sanskrit "Shwet".
Source: The Cambrian journal, Volume 3; By Cambrian Institute, Tenby, Wales [Ref]
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