Sanskrit edit

Alternative scripts edit

Etymology edit

Of uncertain origin.

The word stands out as having no clear phonetic or semantic connections to other words within Sanskrit or other Indo-Iranian and Indo-European languages. However, the word structure does not suggest either a Dravidian or Munda origin, and the word's Vedic attestation makes an autochthonous substrate origin even less likely. The Proto-Indo-Aryan form is not even certain, as the u could have originally been an a, which was backed into a u after the labial p, in addition to the word possibly undergoing dissimilation, metathesis, and other sound changes throughout its history.

Mayrhofer's preferred theory is to derive the word from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (off, away), and compares Ancient Greek πύματος (púmatos, last, nethermost) and German von (from). However, as he suggests, the semantic evidence is neither convincing nor unconvincing, due to the very basic meaning of the Proto-Indo-European word, and the potential phantom phonetic shifts noted above make analysis problematic.

Another theory connects the word to Ancient Greek πᾰ́λῐν (pálin, back, again), which would make the word a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (to revolve). This is an exact semantic match, but the phonetics are difficult to resolve. However, due to the murky phonetic history of the word, this derivation still remains in discussion.

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

पुनर् (púnar)

  1. back, to home
    पुनर् गच्छतिpunar gacchatihe goes back
    पुनर् ददामिpunar dadāmiI restore, give back
  2. again, once more
    पुनर् भवतिpunar bhavatishe is reborn, married again
  3. repeatedly
  4. moreover, furthermore
  5. however, still

References edit

  • Monier Williams (1899) “पुनर्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, [], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 633/2.
  • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 143
  • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1963) Kurzgefasstes Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen [A Concise Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 305-6