In many Indian languages, Raj literally means Prince or Royalty though is often used to mean something more like the English term of empire and as such is often used in reference to the Mughal Raj and the British Raj: the period of direct colonial rule of India by the British Empire.

for Raj as a cartoon character see Raj (Camp Lazlo)

Etymology

Raj (c.f. Rashtra, nation) is a particularly striking example of a word with a common Proto-Indo-European root with many words related to rulers or ruling in European languages. For example:

• Old High German: richi (Modern German: Reich)
• Old English: rice (Modern English: rich, regent)
• Proto-Indo-European: *reg
• Latin: regalis, regere, rex
• Old Prussian: reiks
• Old Norse: rike (as in medieval Norwegian Gårdarike, or Modern Swedish: Rike).
• Modern English: regal, royal, rule, rein, reign (Royal has more history with the French roi)

See also the list of words of disputed pronunciation

Foreign words | British rule in India