Naga

1. a member of a group of peoples living in or near the Naga Hills of Burma (Myanmar) and north-eastern India.
2. any of the Tibeto-Burman languages of the Nagas, with about 340,000 speakers altogether.

adjective

relating to the Nagas or their language.

perhaps from Sanskrit nagna ‘naked’ or naga ‘mountain’.

noun

(in Indian mythology) a member of a semi-divine race, part human, part cobra in form, associated with water and sometimes with mystical initiation.

from Sanskrit nāga ‘serpent’.

noun

(in some Hindu sects) a naked wandering ascetic, in particular one belonging to a sect whose members carry arms and serve as mercenaries.

from Hindi nāgā ‘naked’.