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

• 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

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

Digvijay Patil, a PhD student in archeology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune, noticed repeated mentions of unusual plants while studying Sanskrit and Marathi texts related to sacred sites.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

Two songs from the nine-track “Prema,” which means “all-encompassing love” in Sanskrit, were released earlier this year: the bouncy, Jamiroquai-like “Hāchiko,” rooted in Japanese folklore, and the soaring yacht-rock love ballad “Love Like This.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2025

There is a lovely story in Sanskrit, Sen added, about a frog that is born in a well and stays in the well and lives its entire life in the well.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman