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Home > Patrons > LanguageTech > Sanskrit and its Influence

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Sanskrit and its influence on English

We shall in this article run through some common and not so common English words that owe their lineage to Sanskrit

As with any language, English has seen its vocabulary grow by leaps and bounds since the early times. The latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary lists around 301100 main word listings along with a equal number of derivatives, phrases and combinations which only goes to prove the above mentioned statement. English has spread out around the globe and it has changed to incorporate the cultures and languages it has touched upon.

So with every country the British managed to pull under their wing, there was a renaissance of the English language.

We shall in this article run through some common and not so common English words that owe their lineage to Sanskrit.

The origins

Cheetah – Everyone knows that fastest land animal is the Cheetah. They are known to have arguably run at a speed of 114km/hr. But not many know that the name cheetah has its origins in the Hindi language. The Hindi name for the leopard – the chita which in turn comes from the Sanskrit Chitraka which means to be speckled.

Mouse – Ever the cute hero of Mouse Hunt and Stuart Little, this little creature has been made immortal by one Mr.Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. The word mouse comes from the Sanskrit Mus meaning rat or mouse.

Suttee – if you don’t know what this means don’t fret, you will know this word as Sati.. Sati in sanksrit means the now illegal practice of burning the widow on her husband’s pyre thus fulfilling the role of the wife.

Zen – The definition of Zen is that a Japanese sect of Mahāyāna Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation. Zen is a Japanese word which is a variation of the Nandarin word which is pronounced as chan. Both these words have their origins in sanskrit though – Dhyana mening meditation.

Sine - This has an interesting path. Aryabhata's sanskrit word jya was translated, though proximity of sound, into Arabic jiba (A bay or a cove in Arabic), and ultimately into the Latin word sinus (literally meaning a bay or a cove), from which the modern term sine is derived.

Swastika – This is a Buddhist symbol for luck. But the world, for a long time ha associated the swastika to a reign of terror when Hitler adopted this symbol. The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit word swastik.

Conclusion

Some of these words are easily recognizable as Indian words. There are others, though a part of modern day spoken English, which are seldom recognized as being of Indian origin. Most of these words were assimilated during the later part of the 16th to the 20th century, when the British were following an aggressive imperial policy in the Indian subcontinent.

A comprehensive list of words in the English lexicon which are borrowed from the Indian languages is worth a read. Hindi and Sanskrit have played their part in shaping the English language. It is a feel good factor for any Indian to know that English has an Indian influence!