Sanskrit

American  

[san-skrit] / ˈsæn skrɪt /

Older Spelling, Sanscrit

noun

1. an Indo-European, Indic language, in use since c1200 b.c. as the religious and classical literary language of India. Skt, Skt., Skr., Skrt

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adjective

1. Also Sanskritic of or relating to Sanskrit.

Sanskrit British  

/ ˈsænskrɪt /

noun

1. an ancient language of India, the language of the Vedas, of Hinduism, and of an extensive philosophical and scientific literature dating from the beginning of the first millennium _bc. It is the oldest recorded member of the Indic branch of the Indo-European family of languages; recognition of the existence of the Indo-European family arose in the 18th century from a comparison of Sanskrit with Greek and Latin. Although it is used only for religious purposes, it is one of the official languages of India

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Sanskrit Cultural  

1. The language of ancient India, and one of the oldest languages of the Indo-European family, to which English belongs.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Sanskritist
  noun
• non-Sanskritic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Sanskrit

First recorded in 1610–20; from Sanskrit saṃskṛta “adorned, perfected”; cf. Prakrit ( def. ), Pali ( def. )

Compare meaning

How does sanskrit compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Sanskrit vs. Hindi

Example Sentences

Khichdi, derived from the Sanskrit word khicca, meaning a dish made with rice and legumes, dates back to the ninth century B.C.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

Anand Desai launched New York-based Darsana, which takes its name for a Sanskrit word that means seeing the true nature of reality, in 2014 with about $1.4 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

India is also reported to be readying a test-fire of the latest model of the domestically developed ballistic Agni missile -- meaning "fire" in Sanskrit -- capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

"It also has a striking cross-cultural element. The star pointers carry their standard names in Persian, alongside Sanskrit equivalents etched in the Devanagari script."

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

The word Aryan used to mean noble—it’s an old Sanskrit word, and Mom says it’s actually the root word for Iran—but it means something different now.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram