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
Derived FormsSanskritist, noun
Word Origin for Sanskrit
C17: from Sanskrit samskrta perfected, literally: put together
1610s, from Sanskrit samskrtam "put together, well-formed, perfected," neuter of samskrta, from sam "together" (see same) + krta- "to make, do, perform," from PIE *k(w)er- "to make, form" (related to karma). "so called as being the cultivated or literary language, distinguished from the vulgar dialects, or, some say, because regarded as a perfect language, the speech of the gods, formed by infallible rules" [Century Dictionary].
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