1776, “dense growth of trees and other tangled vegetation,” such as that of some regions in India, from Hindi jangal “desert, forest, wasteland, uncultivated ground,” from Sanskrit jangala-s “arid, sparsely grown with trees,” a word of unknown origin.
I can’t tell if you meant to say “uninhibitated” or “uninhabited.” I get the impression you meant the latter, which would be in line with the idea of “desert” or “wasteland.”
Either way, the history of the word jungle reveals that its root might have applied to what we’d call today a savanna, which is where lions live. So, the title “King of the Jungle” could have made sense for lions at some point.
Jungle
Source: Etymonline
I can’t tell if you meant to say “uninhibitated” or “uninhabited.” I get the impression you meant the latter, which would be in line with the idea of “desert” or “wasteland.”
Either way, the history of the word jungle reveals that its root might have applied to what we’d call today a savanna, which is where lions live. So, the title “King of the Jungle” could have made sense for lions at some point.
Thanks for doing the research! Fun fact!