Sanskrit edit

Alternative scripts edit

Etymology edit

Perhaps related to मन्थर (manthara, lazy, tardy), with further origin uncertain.

Turner derives both words from a hypothetical root *मन्द् (mand, to stand still), itself perhaps a derivative of मन् (man, to wait) (whence अममन् (amaman, had waited)), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (to stay, remain); this "to wait" sense of मन् (man) is much less frequent than the "to think" sense in Sanskrit and does not show up in most dictionaries.

Similarity in semantics and phonetics with other words makes the case for a substrate borrowing very likely.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

मन्द (manda) stemn

  1. slow, tardy, moving slowly or softly, loitering, idle, lazy, sluggish in (loc. or comp.), apathetic, phlegmatic, indifferent to (dat.) MBh. Kāv. &c.
  2. weak, slight, slack (as a bow), dull, faint (as light), low (as a voice), gentle (as rain or wind), feeble (as the digestive faculty) ib.
  3. weak i.e. tolerant, indulgent to (loc.) MBh.
  4. dull-witted, silly, stupid, foolish

Descendants edit

  • Tamil: மந்தம் (mantam)

References edit

  • Monier Williams (1899) “मन्द”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, [], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 787, column 3.
  • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 312
  • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1963) Kurzgefasstes Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen [A Concise Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 581