पुरस्

Sanskrit

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *pr̥Hás (“before, in front”), from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂-ós, from *preh₂- (“before, in front”). Cognate with Latin prae (“before, in front of”) prior, Ancient Greek πάρος (páros), Proto-Slavic *pьrvъ, and English first and fore.

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /pu.ɾɐ́s/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpu.ɾɐs̪/

Adverb

पुरस् • (purás)

1. in front
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 5.31.11:

     सूर॑श्चि॒द्रथं॒ परि॑तक्म्यायां॒ पूर्वं॑ कर॒दुप॑रं जूजु॒वांस॑म्।
     भर॑च्च॒क्रमेत॑श॒: सं रि॑णाति पु॒रो दध॑त्सनिष्यति॒ क्रतुं॑ नः॥

     sū́raścidráthaṃ páritakmyāyāṃ pū́rvaṃ karadúparaṃ jūjuvā́ṃsam.
     bháraccakrámétaśa: sáṃ riṇāti puró dádhatsaniṣyati krátuṃ naḥ.

     He, Indra, has formerly arrested in battle the rapid chariot of the sun; Etaśa has born away the wheel, and with it Indra demolishes his foes; may he, giving us precedence, be propitiated by our rite.

2. before
3. towards or from the east

Preposition

पुरस् • (purás)

1. before, in advance, forward
2. (with genitive, locative or accusative) in the presence of, before the eyes
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda

Derived terms

• पुरःसद् (puraḥsád, “sitting in front, presiding”)
• पुरःस्थात्रि (puraḥsthātri, “standing at the head, a leader”)
• पुरःस्थित (puraḥsthita, “impending, imminent”)
• पुरतस् (puratas, “before, in front of”)
• पुरस्कार (puraskāra, “placing at front; preference; reward”)
• पुरोहित (purohita, “placed in front, commissioned, appointed”)

 

Descendants

• Ashokan Prakrit:
  • Maharastri Prakrit:
    • Konkani: फुडे (phuḍe)
    • Old Marathi: पुढां (puḍhāṃ) ? (or from प्रथम (prathama))
      • Marathi: पुढे (puḍhe)

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “पुरस्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 634/2.
• Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 146-147