The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue "Yavana" in Sanskrit are words used in the Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (Homeric Greek: Ἰάoνες, Ancient Greek: *Ἰάϝoνες), who were probably the first Greeks to be known in the East.