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Sanskrit

Pronunciation: /ˈsanskrɪt/

Definition of Sanskrit

noun

[mass noun]
  • an ancient Indo-European language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian (Indic) languages are derived.

Sanskrit was spoken in India roughly 1200–400 bc, and continues in use as a language of religion and scholarship. It is written from left to right in the Devanagari script. The suggestion by Sir William Jones (1746–94) of its common origin with Latin and Greek was a major advance in the development of historical linguistics

adjective

  • relating to Sanskrit.

Derivatives

Sanskritic

Pronunciation: /-ˈskrɪtɪk/

adjective

Sanskritist

noun

Origin:

from Sanskrit saṃskṛta 'composed, elaborated', from saṃ 'together' + kṛ 'make' + the past participle ending -ta

Sanskrit in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of Sanskrit in the US English dictionary
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