धौंस

Hindi

Etymology tree

Sanskrit धर्षा (dharṣā)?

Sanskrit दंश (daṃśa)?

Hindi धौंस (dha͠us)

Uncertain.

Per Platts, inherited from Sanskrit धर्षा (dharṣā, “deception”), from धृष् (dhṛṣ). This is the most likely explanation, with the nasalisation caused by -r- (compare आँच (ā̃c)).
Per Dasa, inherited from Sanskrit दंश (daṃśa, “bite”), but this is phonologically difficult due to the vowel.

Compare झाँसा (jhā̃sā, “deception, cunning”) and its variant झौंसा (jha͠usā).

धौंस • (dha͠us) f

Declension of धौंस (fem cons-stem)

McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “धौंस”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
Dāsa, Śyāmasundara (1965–1975) “धौँस”, in Hindī Śabdasāgara [lit. Sea of Hindi words] (in Hindi), Kashi [Varanasi]: Nagari Pracarini Sabha
Platts, John T. (1884) “धौंस”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.