Word Origins
Dedicated to finding real origins of words in several languages
aag
Indian Hindi/Urdu word meaning ‘fire’
Origin
Indian Sanskrit Agni ‘god of fire’
Related Words
Russian ogon ‘fire’
Latin ignis ‘fire’
English words like ignite, ignition etc.
aah
exclamation word in most languages
Origin
Indian Tamil aaka
The Transition
Indian Tamil k sound becomes h sound in Indian Sanskrit, Hindi/Urdu, Arabic and other European languages.
Eg.: Indian Tamil mukam ‘face’ = Indian Sanskrit mukham ‘face’= Indian Hindi/Urdu muh ‘face’ = Arabic muhayyam ‘face’.
Indian Tamil k sound becomes h sound in Indian Sanskrit and g sound in Latin and English.
Eg.: Indian Tamil makaa ‘big’ = Indian Sanskrit mahaa ‘big’= Greek megalos ‘big’ =Latin/English mega ‘big’.
aardvark
South African name for anteater, often called ‘earth pig’
Origin Words
Arabic ard ‘earth’
Indian Sanskrit varaaha ‘boar’
Related Word
German derErdferkel
How does Indian Sanskrit varaaha become South African vark?
Sanskrit varaaha has v-r-h sounds.
Indian Tamil k sound becomes h sound in Indian Sanskrit, Hindi/Urdu, Arabic and other European languages.
Eg.: Indian Tamil mukam ‘face’ = Indian Sanskrit mukham ‘face’= Indian Hindi/Urdu muh ‘face’ = Arabic muhayyam ‘face’.
Thus South Afrcan vark = Indian Sanskrit varaaha.
Arabic ard + South African vark (from Sanskrit varaaha) = aardvark
How does South African vark become German ferkel part of der Erdferkel?
German v has f sound.
Eg. German Volk is pronounced as Folk.
Thus South African vark (from Indian Sanskrit varaaha) = German ferkel part of Erdferkel.Arabic ard + German ferkel (from South African vark from Sanskrit varaaha) = German der Erd
ab
Arabic word meaning ‘water’
Origin
Indian Sanskrit apa ‘water’
Explanation
Arabic has no p sound. So Indian Sanskrit apa becomes Arabic ab
Other Related Words
Latin aqua
Indian p sound becomes k sound.
Spanish aguaIndian p sound becomes g sound
abandon
Origin Words
Indian Sanskrit prefix a- ‘not’
Indian Sanskrit bandh ‘bond’, ‘tie’
Related Words
German das Abhandkommen ‘loss’
Spanish abandonerEnglish abandon
Mechanism
All words derive from the union of a + bandh
abba
Popular Jewish first name
Origins
Indian Tamil appa ‘father’
Explanation
One Indian Tamil consonant has both p and b sounds.
So Indian Tamil appa = Jewish abba abbess
Origins
Indian Tamil appa ‘father’
Explanation
One Indian Tamil consonant has both p and b sounds.
So Indian Tamil appa = English abbot
English abbess is the feminine version of abbot.
abbey
English word meaning ‘home of the abbot or abbess’
abbot
Origins
Indian Tamil appa ‘father’
Explanation
One Indian Tamil consonant has both p and b sounds.
So Indian Tamil appa = English abbot abed
means ‘in bed’
Origin Words
English prefix a ‘in’
Indian Tamil padu ‘lie down’
Indian Tamil padukkai ‘bed’
Mechanism
One Indian Tamil consonant has both p and b sounds.
Thus Indian Tamil padu can be pronounced as badu.
Thus English a + Indian Tamil badu = English abed.
abound
English word meaning ‘plenty ‘
Origin Words
Indian Sanskrit prefix a- ‘not’
Indian Sanskrit bandh ‘bind’, ‘bound’
Mechanism
Indian Sanskrit a + Indian Sanskrit bandh = English abound See our previous edition
http://wordorigins.wordpress.com/2006/12/22/hello-world/
Contact us
See our other articles and books
http://www.geocities.com/kmguru2000/Ignorance.doc
OPOL: http://www.authorsonline.co.uk/viewbook.php?bid=419
Roots: http://www.authorsonline.co.uk/viewbook.php?bid=510
govind said,
February 24, 2007 at 10:56 am
sir..
i would like to know if there is a british influence over our indian english when it comes to speaking… i feel we pronounce lot of words like the british.. could u pls mail me abt this issue in detail..
regards
gpvind
maverick58 said,
March 2, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Dear Govind:
Yes, Indians do have “British” accent. That comes from nearly two centuries of occupation and most likely the initial teaching of English by English men and women teachers in India.
What we are trying to prove in ‘Word Origins’ is that all the major languages originated in India.
Please read our new new article “The Origin of Decimal System in India” just published.
Thank you for your interest. We have one request. If you are convinced with our findings, please spread the word.