Hindi, from Sanskrit panch five, because such councils originally consisted of five members
panchayat in American English
(pənˈtʃɑːjət)
noun
an elective village council in India
Word origin
[1880–85; ‹ Hindi pañcāyat]This word is first recorded in the period 1880–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Chief of Staff, highball, quotation mark, rain check, regionalism