An etymological evidence of the Sanatana World

 

The entire world in not so distant past was practicing the Sanatana practices of worshiping the one Supreme Divine in many forms.  These forms represented various forces of nature like the wind, the fire, the water, the mountains, rivers and so on. There were innumerous forms. 

Above is a picture of European people still remembering their past, the customs and traditions of their forefathers and invoking the Supreme divine through yajna fire and songs of praise (stuti).

Here, we are exploring comprehensively the Sanskrit words that are building blocks for majority of the languages round the world. The layout and format of the following table is as under: First a Sanskrit root is given and thereafter are the different words derived from that root.  The reader will find it interesting to explore how words in many European, Asian and Middle East languages are derived from the ancient Sanskrit language.  This languauge which came into existence when it was taught by the Devas to the sages.   Therefore, it is also called the language of the Devas.  The entire Sanatana Civilizations across the world found expression through the Sanskrit language.  We can see this language had an imprint on all classical civilizations.  The Sanskrit words find their place in all modern languages till today.

In my opinion, not much has been done on this subject before.  People vaguely know that "Sanskrit is the mother of all languages".  This is a popular notion, here in India as it is taught in schools.  But how and to which extent, Sanskrit is the originator of modern world languages, one hardly bothers about.

But if you believe the etymologists, the modern languages are derived from the Sanskrit, an old language that was spoken in many parts of the world.  An etymologist is one who investigates the origin of a word and goes to the root of that word from where it first originated.  Here, the work of distinguished etymologist Eric Patridge "Origins : A Short etymological dictionary of modern English" is worth mentioning.   An etymological dictionary tells us the origin of a particular word.  It is less concerned with the meaning of the word but is more concerned about the origin of that word, from where it originated?  The following list of Sanskrit words has been compiled with the help of many etymological dictionaries.  The Sanskrit words which are the building blocks for numerous different words in almost all languages of this world are listed in the beginning of each para.

So readers, just go through the list and see yourself that the origin of thousands of words of different languages being traced to the Sanskrit language can not be a mere coincidence.  Such a striking resemblance suggests that at one time in the past, the Sanskrit language was spoken all over the world by the native classical civilizations.  These civilizations were fundamentally Sanatani (the worshiper of the Supreme divine in its numerous manifested forms that presides over this created universe) in nature.  These Sanatani people had knowledge of the diverse manifestations of one Supreme divine.  They knew the procedures, the science of invoking the Supreme divine in its innumerable forms.  They worshiped the forms, the Saguna Paramatama or the Supreme divine manifested into various forms.  This knowledge of invoking the formless into forms, they learnt from the Sanatana Scriptures.

ABBREVIATIONS

For the sake of brevity, the following abbreviations have been used throughout in this work ‘the etymological evidence for the Sanatana World’.

 

 

abl                       ablative (denoting a case  of nouns and pronouns and words in grammatical agreement with them indicating an agent, instrument, or source, expressed by ‘by’, ‘with’, or ‘from’)  अपादान कारक (पंचमी विभक्ति)

acc                      accusative (or objective) case

A.D.                     Anno Domini, in the year of (our) Lord

adj                       adjective, adjectival

adv                      adverb, adverbial

AE                       American English

AF                       Anglo-French

Afr                      Afrikaans (a Germanic language spoken in South AfricaNamibiaBotswanaZambia, and Zimbabwe.

AIr                     Anglo-Irish

Akk                    Akkadian/Accadian (also called Assyro-Babylonian, extinct Semitic language spoken in Mesopotamia)

AL                       Anglo-Latin (=Medieval Latin as used in Britain)

Alb                      Albanian (spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the AmericasEurope and Oceania)

Alg                      Algonquin (Algonquin is an Algonquian language spoken in Quebec and Ontario in Canada)

Amerind               American Indian, languages spoken by the original inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere.

Ar                       Arabic

Aram                  Aramaic (a Semitic language that originated among the Arameans in the ancient region of Syria )

Arm                    Armenian (official language of Armenia)

AS                       Anglo-Saxon (Old English language, spoken and in England before 1100; it is the ancestor of Middle English and Modern English. Scholars place Old English in the Anglo-Frisian group of West Germanic languages.)

Ass                      Assyrian (Assyrian / Neo-Assyrian is an Aramaic language spoken in parts of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria)

Av                       Avestic (or Zend) (Avestan language, also called Zend Language is the language of the Avesta, the sacred book of Zoroastrianism)

B                         British

Bab                      Babylonian, Babylonish (Assyrian and Babylonian are members of the Semitic language family, like Arabic and Hebrew. Because Babylonian and Assyrian are so similar – at least in writing – they are often regarded as varieties of a single language, today known as Akkadian.)

B.C.                     Before Christ

Br                        Breton

Bu                        Bantu

Byz Gr                  Byzantine Greek

C                         Celtic

c                         circa, about (in dates)

Cat                      Catalan

Ch                       Chinese

Class                    Classical (Greek, Latin)

Cz                         Czechoslovak

D                          Dutch

Da                        Danish

E                          English

ED                        Early Modern Dutch

EE                        Early Modern English (1500–1700)

EF                        Early Modern French (1500–1700)

Eg                         Egyptian

EgAr                      Egyptian Arabic

e.g.                       exempli gratia, for example

EI                          East Indian, East Indies

etc.                        et cetera

etym                      etymology, etymological(ly)

euphem                  euphemism, euphemistically)

Ex                          example; Exx: examples

extn                       extension

F                            French

f                            feminine

Fin                          Finnish

Fl                            Flemish

Fris                          Frisian (West Germanic language)

FU                            Finno-Ugric

G                             German

Ga                           Gaelic (language native to the Gaels of Scotland)

Gaul                        Gaulish (an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire)

gen                       genitive (possessive case)

Gmc                      Germanic

Go                 Gothic (East Germanic language spoken by the Goths)

Gr                       Greek

H            Hebrew (a Semitic language; the language of the early Jews)

Ham       Hamitic (a language group in northern Africa related to Semitic)

Hell         Hellenistic

Her         Heraldry, heraldic

HG           High German

Hi            Hindi

Hit            Hittite (spoken in north-central Anatolia, modern Turkey) 

Hung or Hu    Hungarian

ibid ibidem,       in the same place

Ice                                  Icelandic

id idem,                          the same; identical

i.e.                                  id est, that is

Ir                                    Irish

It                                    Italian

J or Jap                           Japanese

Jav                       Javanese (a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia)

L                                     Latin

Lett                                 Lettish (Latvian)

LG                                  Low German

LGr                                 Late Greek

LH                                   Late Hebrew

Lith                                 Lithuanian

LL                         Late Latin (c A.D. 180–600)

Mal                      Malayan (an Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, East Timor and parts of Thailand)

MAr                                 Medieval Arabic

MBr                                 Medieval Breton

MD                                 Medieval Dutch

ME                                  Middle English

Medit    Mediterranean (languages  spoken in the Mediterranean region)

MF                                  Medieval French (CC13–15)

MGr                                Medieval Greek

MHG                               Middle High German

MIr                                 Middle Irish

ML                                  Medieval Latin

MLG                                Middle Low German

MSc                                Middle Scots

MW                                 Middle Welsh

n                                    noun

Nor                                 Norwegian

OB                                  Old Bulgarian (=Old Church Slavic)

OBr                                 Old Breton

obs                                 obsolete

obsol                               obsolescent

OC                                  Old Celtic

OE                                  Old English

OF                                  Old French

OFris                     Old Frisian (a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries in the area between the Rhine and Weser on the European North Sea coast)

OGmc                             Old Germanic

OHG                               Old High German

OIr                                  Old Irish

OIt                                  Old Italian (Middle Ages)

OL                                  Old Latin

OLG                                Old Low German

ON                       Old Norse (Old Norse (Dǫnsk tunga / Norrœnt mál) Old Norse was a North Germanic language once spoken in Scandinavia, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and in parts of Russia, France and the British Isles and Ireland. It was the language of the Vikings or Norsemen)

OP                        Old Prussian (were an indigenous tribe among the Baltic peoples that inhabited the region of Prussia, at the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The Old Prussians worshipped pre-Christian deities)

OPer                               Old Persian

OProv                             Old Provencal (spoken in the south of France)

OS                                  Old Saxon

o/s                                  oblique stem

OSl                               Old Slavic ((OSL) (SL) Slavic people (Slavs) can be divided into three subgroups based upon their geographic and linguistic distribution: West Slavs (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia), East Slavs (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine), and South Slavs (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia).

OSp                                Old Spanish

OSw                                Old Swedish

OW                                 Old Welsh

PC                                  Primitive Celtic

Per                                  Persian

PGmc                              Primitive Germanic

PGr                                 Primitive Greek

PL                                   Primitive Latin

Pol                                  Polish

Poly                     Polynesian (The Polynesian languages are Samoan,  Maori, spoken in New Zealand,  Tahitian, widely used as a lingua franca in French Polynesia; and Hawaiian)

Port                                Portuguese

R                                    Romance (language or languages)

r                                     root

Rom                    Romany (spoken exclusively in Europe since the middle ages)

Ru                                  Russian

Rum                                Rumanian

s                                     stem

Sc                                   Scots, Scottish

Scan                               Scandinavian

Sci                                  Science, scientific

SciL                                Scientific Latin

SE                                  Standard English

Sem                     Semitic (a language that belongs to a subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic language family including Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic)

Skt                                 Sanskrit

Sl                                    Slavonic

Slov                                Slovene (spoken in Slovenia )

Sp                                   Spanish

Sw                                  Swedish

syn                                 synonym; synonymous

tech                                (a) technical (term)

Theo                               Theology, theological

Tokh                               Tokharian

trans                               translated, translation

Tu                                   Turkish

ult                                  ultimate, ultimately

usu                                 usually

v                                     verb

var                                  variant

W                        Welsh (Welsh is a Brittonic language of the Celtic language family that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, England )

W                        Welsh (spoken natively in Wales, England )

WI                       West Indian, West Indies

1. pruṣvā प्रुष्वा in Sanskrit means a drop of water, hoar-frost/ice. It became friōsa (to freeze ) in old Norse, frēosan in old English, friosan in German, Prūrīre (to itch)/ prūrīgō (an itching ) in medicine terminology, frius (frost, cold ) in Gothic & freeze, frost in English.


2. Budhna बुध्न in Sanskrit means bottom, ground, base, and depth. It became bodam in German, boden in Greek, botn in old Norse and botm in old English languages having the same meaning. The English words foundation, fund, fundamental, profound, and bottom are derived from Budhna.


3. aṛu ऋ is a Sanskrit word meaning to make straight or right, to arrange. It (aṛu ऋ ) is the origin of the the English words arithmetic and logarithm. In German and Old Irelandic languages,  rī means a number.


4. āsa आस in Sanskrit means ashes or dust. It became azein (to dry) in Greek, azazem (I dry) in Armenian, asca (ashes) in German, azgō (ashes) in Gothic; arēre (to be dry) & ardēre (extreme dryness/burning heat ) in Latin; ardent, arid and arson in English.


5. ukṣan उक्षन् in Sanskrit means an ox or bull (as impregnating the flock). It became auxein in Greek & augēre in Latin (to increase) ; aukan in Gothic, ouhhōn in German, ēacan in old English, augti (to grow) in Lithuanian and augur, augment, august, author, auction in English.


6. ajra अज्र in Sanskrit means a field/a plain. It became ager/agr (a field), agere (to drive), agricultūra (cultivation) in Latin, agros in Greek, ajra in Avestin and agriculture, culture, cult, agent in English.


7. akṣa अक्ष in Sanskrit means an axle/axis. It became axis in Latin, axōn in Greek, assis in old Persian, ašis in Lithuanian, ahsa in German and axial, axilla (armpit ), axillary, axis in English.


8. aṅka अङ्क in Sanskrit means a curve or to move in a curve/to mark or stamp. It became angle, angular in English.


9. nīla नील in Sanskrit means blue. It became al-nil (indigo plant) and laylak in Arabic, nīl (blue) in Persian, lilac in Spanish and aniline in English.


10. āpaḥ आपः in Sanskrit means water. The Latin words Aqua, aqueous are derived from āpaḥ.


11. The Sanskrit word ūrdhva ऊर्ध्व means upright. It became arduus (high, steep, hence difficult and strenuous) in Latin, ard (high) in old Irelandic, ardis (a point) in Greek, Arduenna (name of a mountain) in Gaul and Arduous in English. 


12. The Sanskrit word bubhukṣā बुभुक्षा means hunger/desire to take food. It became bukk in Proto-German, boc in German and buck in English. #Etymology #Origin


13. The Sanskrit word bal बल्/balbalīti means to whirl round in a circle. It became baller (to dance) in middle French, ballāre in Latin, ballein (to dance) in Greek, ballo/ balletto (a dance) in Italian and ultimately ballet in English.

14. bhaṇ भण् meaning "he speaks" became bannum in Latin, bann (a public prohibition) in Frisian, Slovenian, German, Norse; phanai (to say) in Greek, bannīre/ bandīre in late Latin, bandire (to banish) and bandito (an outlaw) in Italian and ban, bandit in English.

15. The Sanskrit word bhā भा means to shine. It became bēken/bāken in old Frisian, bōkan in old Slovenian, bouhhan in old German, bouchen in middle German, bēacen (a sign) in old English; and Beacon (a sign or signal), beck (nod) and beckon in English.


16. barbara बर्बर means a wild person with no culture/who behaves very badly. It became barbaros in Greek, barbarus in Latin, barbarien in French, and barbaric, babble and babe in English.

17. bhū भू /bhavati in Sanskrit means to become/be. It became phu/phunai (to be born/to be) in Greek, fui (I have been) in Latin, biu (I am) in Old Irelandic, byti ( to be) in Slovenian, ben or bin in middle English and be, being, been, become in modern English.


18. The Sanskrit word bhā भा means to shine. It became bēken/bāken in old Frisian, bōkan in old Slovenian, bouhhan in old German, bouchen in middle German, bēacen (a sign) in old English; and Beacon (a sign or signal), beck (nod) and beckon in English. #Etymology #Origin

19. babhru बभ्रु is a Sanskrit word meaning deep-brown/reddish-brown. It became bero/ber in German, bare/bere in Dutch, bere/bera in old English and bear in English. 

20. babhru बभ्रु meaning deep-brown became bern in old Frisian and Slovenian, björn (the brown animal) and therefore Bruin (brown) in old Norse, braun in Greek, bruin (brown), brunette in Duth, brunet, brun (brown) in French, brūn in German and Brown in English.

21. bhid भिद् meaning to split/cleave/break became beddian/bedd (a bed) in old English, bedd in old Frisian and old Slovenian, betti/bette in German, Bett in Greek, badi in Gothic, bedr ( a mattress) in old Norse and bite, bed in English.

22. bhid भिद् (split/cleave/break ) with basic meaning ‘dug-out’ or ‘hollow’ became bedd in old Frisian and old Slovenian, bedd (a grave) in Welsh, fodere (to dig ) and then fossilis (dug up) in Latin, fossile in French and fossil in English.

23. śanipriya शनिप्रिय meaning ‘dear to Saturn’ (śani, the planet Saturn) became sappīr in Hebrew, sappheiros in Greek, sapphirus/saphīrus in Latin, safir/saphir in French and sapphire in English.

24. śanaiścara शनैश्चर (slow-moving )/śani, the planet Saturn became Sāturnus (planet Saturn)/Sāturnālis, Sāturnālia (the festival/carnival of Saturn) in Latin, Saturne in French, Saeternesdaeg (Saturn’s day) in old English and Saturday in English.


ātman आत्मन् (the individual soul, self ; here in the sense of minutest, that which can not be further subdivided) atoms, atomic, atomize

Saur सौर meaning 'Sun' became sunne/sonne in old English (n for r), sunne in old Frisian, sunna in Slovenian, sunna/sonne in German, sunnō in Gothic, sonne/ zonne/Zon in Dutch, sunna in Old Norse, khvēng in Avestin (kha for sa) and Sun in English.

Saur सौर meaning 'Sun' became sōl in Latin, hēlio (the Sun God)/ hēli/ hēl in Greek, Khor (Sun, kha for sa) in Persian and sun, solar, solstice, helium (the element), insolate, insolation, parasol, aphelion and parhelion in English.

svapna स्वप्न meaning sleep/dream became somnus (sleep)/Somnus (God of Sleep)/sōpīre (deep sleep) in Latin; hupnos in Greek, sofa (to sleep)/svefn in old Norse, sǔpati (to sleep) in Slovenian, sapna in Lithuanian and Khaab (sleep, kha for sa) in Persian.


svapna स्वप्न meaning sleep/dream became swefn (sleep, a dream) in old English and Somnolence, insomnia, sofa, hypnosis, hypnotic, hypnotize in English.


The root dhṛt धृत् meaning holding, supporting takes the form of dhāraka (holding, a holder) in Sanskrit, thōrak in Greek, thōrax (the chest ) in Latin and thorax, thoracoscope (an instrument for inspecting the cavity of the chest) in English.

 

āyu आयु (life, duration of life) became aiōn in Greek, aeu in Latin, ēwa (a long time) in German, aiw (always) in Gothic, āyu (life) in Avestin, ei (always) in old Norse and

age, eternal, eternity in English.

āpta आप्त in Sanskrit means fit, true, exact/āpnoti, he reaches, attains.  It was borrowed as aptu (fastened/well fitted), apere ( to tie or fasten) in Latin which further became apt, aptitude, attitude in English.

mithyā मिथ्या  meaning contrarily, incorrectly, wrongly was borrowed as muthos in Greek, mythos in German, mýtus in Slovak, mito in Portuguese, mitos in Indonesian, mítosz in Hungarian and myth, mythicism,  mythology in English.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Vedic Sanatana roots of the Mitanni Empire

German airline Lufthansa derives its name from Sanskrit words lupta लुप्त and haṃsa हंस

Origin of the word Ghadr or Gadar.