What exactly does desi mean?

Question

does it mean people from India? like the Indian diasphora, as in Indians outside of India, or does it refer to all Indians?

what is the literal translation?

Answer 1

Desi is  a word originally from Sanskrit literally meaning "from the country" or "of the country". In North America and Great Britain, desi is used colloquially to mean South Asian immigrants and their descendants.

Answer 2

Desi (or Deshi; pronounced [ˈd̪eːsi] or [ˈd̪eːʃi], Hindi: देसी, Urdu: دیسی, Punjabi: ਦੇਸੀ, دیسی) is a word originally from Sanskrit literally meaning "folk" or "popular", as the opposite of margi, or classical. In North America and Great Britain, Desi is used colloquially to mean South Asian immigrants and their descendants. This self-referential colloquialism for those of South Asian heritage living outside the Indian subcontinent was created in the United Kingdom during the early 1960s to late 1980s and is sometimes pronounced "dezzi."

Answer 3

It is a colloquial word to refer to Indians.  But it means "folk" or "popular" in Sanskrit.

Answer 4

person in his own country can be desi

Answer 5

desi means more popular   it be a brand or person frm same countarry. eg i like deki desi clothes as they r cheaper.

Answer 6

'desh' means country in Sanskrit. thus, 'deshi' or 'desi' means 'from the country' or rather 'from India'.

Outside India, it's a self-referential word for Indians to address other Indians or products from India.

Within India, it means 'indigenous' or 'local' as opposed to 'foreign'.

Sometimes, the word is used derogatorily or self-deprecatorily by Indians themselves to imply something of poor or inferior quality since India has been a developing 3rd world country, and historically not known for quality.

who knows, another 100 years, and the word might be used with pride!!!