the word jungle comes from the Sanskrit word for desert.
This IS interesting! The common word for jungle/forest in Sanskrit is ARANYAM (AH-RUN-YUM). This word doesn't seem to be the root for jungle and I am unaware of any other such word.
It seems more likely that the word derives from Hindi. Now, Hindi has the same word for forest; it's only pronounced more as JUN-GUHL. This seems more likely to be the root.
Also, the Hindi word for a savage, or a crude person, or a person with poor manners is JUN-GLEE.
[aside] Hindi and Sanskrit share a common word for jungle too: VANAM (VUH_NUM) in Sanskrit, VAN (VUN) in Hindi and BAN (BUN) in Bengali.
The word for desert in Sanskrit is MARUH (MUH-ROOH). However, I must add, that it has been some years since I kept up with Sanskrit and it is therefore, quite probable that my knowledge is rusty. Shall pull out my dictionaries over the weekend and post again if I find something.
