[ben-gawl, -gahl, beng-; ben-guh
l, beng-] 
| 1. | a former province in NE India, now divided between India and Bangladesh. Compare East Bengal, West Bengal. |
| 2. | Bay of, a part of the Indian Ocean between India and Burma (Myanmar). |
| 3. | a raw silk from Bengal. |
| 4. | a fabric, esp. one made of silk and hair. |
| 5. | a fabric, similar to muslin, with printed stripes. |
| Ben·gal (běn-gôl', běng-, běn'gəl, běng'-) A region of eastern India and Bangladesh. It was a province of India until 1947, when the eastern part became East Pakistan, and later (1971) Bangladesh, and the western section was included in independent India. Ben'ga·lese' (běn'gə-lēz', -lēs', běng'-) adj. & n. |
| Bengal, Bay of An arm of the Indian Ocean bordered by Sri Lanka and India on the west, Bangladesh on the north, and Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand on the east. |