This is a list of English words of Sanskrit origin. Many of these words were not directly borrowed from Sanskrit. The meaning of some words has changed slightly after being borrowed. Both languages belong to the Indo-European Language Family and have numerous cognate terms. For example, English "mother" is a cognate of Sanskrit "mātár'; likewise, father-pitár, brother-bhrā́tar, sister-svásar, son-sūnú, daughter-duhitár, man-manu/manav, dental-dántam, nose-nas, cow-gáuḥ, plus many more.
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- Ahimsa
- from Sanskrit अहिंसा ahimsā, which means "not injuring anything, do not harm anyone".[1]
- Ambarella
- through Sinhalese: ඇඹරැල්ලා ultimately from Sanskrit: अम्बरेल्ला, a kind of tree.[2]
- Amrita
- from Sanskrit अमृतम् amṛtam, nectar of everlasting life.[3] (see Ambrosia)
- Aniline
- through German: Anilin, French: Aniline and Portuguese: Anil from Arabic النيل al-nili and Persian نیلا nila, ultimately from Sanskrit नीली nili.[4]
- Apadravya
- from Sanskrit which refers to a male genital piercing where a barbell passes through the penis. Mentioned in Indian literature in the Kama Sutra
- Aryan
- from Latin Ariana, from Greek Ἀρεία Areia, ultimately from Sanskrit आर्य Arya-s "noble, honorable".[5]
- Asana
- from Sanskrit आसन āsana which means "seat", a term describing yoga postures.[6]
- Ashram
- ultimately from Sanskrit आश्रम āśrama, a religious hermitage.[7]
- Atoll
- through Maldivean:އަތޮޅު probably ultimately from Sanskrit अन्तला antala.[8]
- Aubergine
- from French aubergine, in Catalan alberginera, via Arabic (باذِنْجان al-badinjan) and Persian (بادنجان badin-gan) ultimately from Sanskrit वातिगगम vātigagama,[9]meaning aubergine or eggplant in American English.
- Avatar
- from Sanskrit अवतार avatāra, which means "descent", an avatar refers to the human incarnation of God during times of distress on earth. Thus, Krishna andRāma were both avatars of Vishnu, who also manifested himself as an avatar many other times, ten of which are considered the most significant.[10]
- Ayurveda
- from Sanskrit आयुर्वेद āyurveda, which means "knowledge of life".[11]