Word
sanskrit
Phoneticssan·skrit
/ˈsænskɹɪt/
Definitions
01the language
n. an ancient language of India that is still used today in Hindu religious ceremonies and classical literature.
n. A classical Indo-European language of South Asia, which is the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Uncountable in this sense.
“The priest chanted the ancient prayers in Sanskrit during the wedding ceremony.”
“Scholars of historical linguistics often study Sanskrit to understand the shared roots of Indo-European languages like Greek and Latin.”
Academic · Formal
Usage
Always capitalized as it refers to a specific language.
02relating to the language
adj. describing something written in or related to the Sanskrit language.
adj. Relating to or written in the Sanskrit language.
“She spent years studying Sanskrit literature to understand ancient Indian history.”
“The library houses a vast collection of Sanskrit manuscripts, some dating back several centuries.”
Academic · Formal
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Sanskrit संस्कृत (saṃskṛtá, “perfected, prepared, constructed, refined”). First use appears c. 1617 in the publications of Samuel Purchas.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/sanskrit