धातु

See also: धातू, धातृ, and धृत

Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit धातु m (dhātu), with the gender having changed in recent times.

Pronunciation

• (Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /d̪ʱɑː.t̪uː/, [d̪ʱäː.t̪uː]

Noun

धातु • (dhātu) f or m

1. metal, metallic element

This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them! Particularly: “Especially showing the change in gender.”

Declension

Declension of धातु (fem u-stem // masc u-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	धातु dhātu	धातुएँ, धातु dhātuẽ, dhātu
oblique	धातु dhātu	धातुओं dhātuõ
vocative	धातु dhātu	धातुओ dhātuo

References

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “धातु”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
• “धातु”, in Collins Gem Hindi-English Dictionary, Collins, 2011, →ISBN
• Platts, John T. (1884) “धातु”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

• dhātu (Latin script)
• 𑀥𑀸𑀢𑀼 (Brahmi script)
• ধাতু (Bengali script)
• ධාතු (Sinhalese script)
• ဓာတု or ꩪႃတု (Burmese script)
• ธาตุ (Thai script)
• ᨵᩤᨲᩩ (Tai Tham script)
• ຘາຕຸ (Lao script)
• ធាតុ (Khmer script)
• 𑄙𑄂𑄖𑄪 (Chakma script)

Etymology 1

Noun

धातु f

1. Devanagari script form of dhātu (“element”)

Declension

Declension table of "धातु" (feminine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	धातु (dhātu)	धातुयो (dhātuyo) or धातू (dhātū)
Accusative (second)	धातुं (dhātuṃ)	धातुयो (dhātuyo) or धातू (dhātū)
Instrumental (third)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Dative (fourth)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Genitive (sixth)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	धातुया (dhātuyā) or धातुयं (dhātuyaṃ)	धातूसु (dhātūsu)
Vocative (calling)	धातु (dhātu)	धातुयो (dhātuyo) or धातू (dhātū)

Etymology 2

Noun

धातु m

1. Devanagari script form of dhātu (“root of a word”)
   • c. 500 AD, Kaccāyana, Pālivyākaraṇaṃ [Pali Grammar]‎^[3], page 283; republished as Satish Chandra Acharyya Vidyabhusana, editor, Kaccayana's Pali Grammar (edited in Devanagari character and translated into English), Calcutta, Bengal: Mahabodhi Society, 1901:

     दिस इच्चेतस्स धातुस्स पस्स दिस्स दक्ख इच्चेते आदेसा होन्ति वा।

     Disa iccetassa dhātussa passa dissa dakkha iccete ādesā honti vā.

     'Dis': this root may become 'pass', 'diss' or 'dakkh'.

Declension

Declension table of "धातु" (masculine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	धातु (dhātu)	धातवो (dhātavo) or धातू (dhātū)
Accusative (second)	धातुं (dhātuṃ)	धातवो (dhātavo) or धातू (dhātū)
Instrumental (third)	धातुना (dhātunā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Dative (fourth)	धातुस्स (dhātussa) or धातुनो (dhātuno)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	धातुस्मा (dhātusmā) or धातुम्हा (dhātumhā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Genitive (sixth)	धातुस्स (dhātussa) or धातुनो (dhātuno)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	धातुस्मिं (dhātusmiṃ) or धातुम्हि (dhātumhi)	धातूसु (dhātūsu)
Vocative (calling)	धातु (dhātu)	धातवे (dhātave) or धातवो (dhātavo)

Sanskrit

Etymology

Maybe inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁-tu-, in that case cognate with Avestan 𐬬𐬍𐬜𐬁𐬙𐬎 (vīδātu, “justification, providence”), Lithuanian dė́tų (“putting, placing”, w:supine) (dated), Old Church Slavonic дѣтъ (dětŭ, “putting, placing”, supine). Can be deconstructed as धा (dhā, “to put, place”) +‎ -तु (-tu) (see दधाति (dádhāti)). The Sanskrit meaning may be explained as having developed from a resultative, ie “*the outcome of putting down”.

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /dʱɑ́ː.tu/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈd̪ʱɑː.t̪u/

Noun

धातु • (dhā́tu) stem, m

1. layer, stratum
2. constituent part, ingredient
3. element, primitive matter
4. a constituent element or essential ingredient of the body
5. primary element of the earth; i.e. metal, mineral, ore (especially a red mineral)
6. (grammar) verbal root
   • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata

Declension

Masculine u-stem declension of धातु (dhā́tu)
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	धातुः dhā́tuḥ	धातू dhā́tū	धातवः dhā́tavaḥ
Vocative	धातो dhā́to	धातू dhā́tū	धातवः dhā́tavaḥ
Accusative	धातुम् dhā́tum	धातू dhā́tū	धातून् dhā́tūn
Instrumental	धातुना / धात्वा¹ dhā́tunā / dhā́tvā¹	धातुभ्याम् dhā́tubhyām	धातुभिः dhā́tubhiḥ
Dative	धातवे / धात्वे¹ dhā́tave / dhā́tve¹	धातुभ्याम् dhā́tubhyām	धातुभ्यः dhā́tubhyaḥ
Ablative	धातोः / धात्वः¹ dhā́toḥ / dhā́tvaḥ¹	धातुभ्याम् dhā́tubhyām	धातुभ्यः dhā́tubhyaḥ
Genitive	धातोः / धात्वः¹ dhā́toḥ / dhā́tvaḥ¹	धात्वोः dhā́tvoḥ	धातूनाम् dhā́tūnām
Locative	धातौ dhā́tau	धात्वोः dhā́tvoḥ	धातुषु dhā́tuṣu
Notes	¹Vedic

Derived terms

• आकाशधातु (ākāśadhātu)
• धात्वर्थ (dhātvartha, “'having the sense of a root', a verb”)

Descendants

• Marathi: धातू (dhātū)
• Pali: dhātu f
  • → Burmese: ဓာတ် (dhat)
    • → Shan: ထၢတ်ႈ (thāat)
  • → Khmer: ធាតុ (thiət)
  • → Thai: ธาตุ (tâat)
• Punjabi: ਧਾਤੂ (dhātū)
• → Old Javanese: dhātu
  • → Balinese: ᬥᬵᬢᬸ (datu)
• → Pali: dhātu m (“root of a word”)
  • → Thai: ธาตุ (tâat)
• → Telugu: ధాతువు (dhātuvu)

Further reading

• Otto Böhtlingk, Richard Schmidt (1879-1928) “धातु”, in Walter Slaje, Jürgen Hanneder, Paul Molitor, Jörg Ritter, editors, Nachtragswörterbuch des Sanskrit [Dictionary of Sanskrit with supplements] (in German), Halle-Wittenberg: Martin-Luther-Universität, published 2016
• Monier Williams (1899) “धातु”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 513.