अश्वत्थ

Uncertain. The plausible etymologies proposed in the literature are:

• Per Turner, from a substrate term that has been Sanskritised + -त्थ (-ttha, “wood”), a suffix also found in कपित्थ (kapittha, “bael tree”), डित्थ (ḍittha, “wooden elephant”), and डवित्थ (ḍavittha, “wooden antelope”).^[1] In this case, the first element is probably not अश्व (aśva, “horse”).
• Per Mayrhofer, compare Proto-Iranian *HacwaHastiš (“alfalfa, lucerne”, literally “horse food”).^[2] If truly cognate, the Sanskrit term must have originally been *अश्व-द्-थ (aśva-d-tha), but it is not easy to reconcile the suffix with expected Proto-Indo-European *h₁éd-t-is (“food”), nor is the ashvattha tree typically used as horse food. The expected cognate of the Iranic term would be *अश्वत्ति (aśvatti).

Mayrhofer^[3] lists some other attempted Indo-European etymologies, none of which are convincing:

• Per Adalbert Kuhn and quoted by Uhlenbeck, a Prakritism from अश्व (aśva, “horse”) +‎ स्थ (stha, “stand”).^[4] This etymology arises from a story in the Brāhmaṇas about the tree being a receptacle for the horse-form of the god अग्नि (agni), and thus probably a post-hoc explanation.
• Per Fay, a compound from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷeh₂ (“water”) + *dh₃tós (“given”).
• Per Lassen, a Prakritism from अ- (a-) +‎ स्वस्थ (svastha), i.e. "not self-dependent", referring to the continual shivering of its leaves. Emeneau supports this etymology but rather in reference to the tree's epiphytism;^[5] he later withdrew his support and instead favoured a substrate borrowing.

The given name अश्वत्थामन् (aśvatthāman) is unrelated according to Mayrhofer.

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ɐɕ.ʋɐt.tʰɐ́/,
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ɐɕ.ʋɐt̪.t̪ʰɐ/,

अश्वत्थ • (aśvatthá) stem, m (Vedic, Classical Sanskrit)

1. ashvattha, sacred fig (a tree of species Ficus religiosa)

   Synonyms: पिप्पल (pippala), प्लक्ष (plakṣa)

   • c. 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE, Atharvaveda
   • c. 700 BCE, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
2. a vessel made from ashvattha wood
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.135.8:

     अत्राह॒ तद्व॑हेथे॒ मध्व॒ आहु॑तिं॒ यम॑श्व॒त्थमु॑प॒तिष्ठ॑न्त जा॒यवो॒ऽस्मे ते स॑न्तु जा॒यवः॑
     सा॒कं गावः॒ सुव॑ते॒ पच्य॑ते॒ यवो॒ न ते॑ वाय॒ उप॑ दस्यन्ति धे॒नवो॒ नाप॑ दस्यन्ति धे॒नवः॑

     átrā́ha tádvahethe mádhva ā́hutiṃ yámaśvatthámupatíṣṭhanta jāyávoʼsmé té santu jāyávaḥ
     sākáṃ gā́vaḥ súvate pácyate yávo ná te vāya úpa dasyanti dhenávo nā́pa dasyanti dhenávaḥ

     • 1890 translation by R. T. H. Griffith

       Ride hither to the offering of the pleasant juice, the holy Fig-tree which victorious priests surround: victorious be they still for us. At once the cows yield milk, the barleymeal is dressed. For thee, O Vâyu, never shall the cows grow thin, never for thee shall they be dry.

   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 10.97.5
3. the upper अरणि (araṇi) made of ashvattha wood
   • c. 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE, Atharvaveda 6.2.1
   • c. 700 BCE, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 11
   • c. 300 BCE, Kātyāyana, Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra
4. (astronomy) Synonym of श्रोणा (śroṇā, “name of a नक्षत्र (nakṣatra)”)
   • c. 600 BCE – 400 BCE, Pāṇini, Aṣṭādhyāyī 4.2.5:

     संज्ञायां श्रवणाश्वत्थाभ्याम्

     saṃjñāyāṃ śravaṇāśvatthābhyām

5. a name of the sun
   • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata 3.151
6. name of a people
   • 550 CE, Varāhamihira, Bṛhat Saṃhitā

• Prakrit: 𑀅𑀲𑁆𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀣 (assattha), 𑀆𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀣 (āsattha), 𑀅𑀲𑁆𑀲𑁄𑀢𑁆𑀣 (assŏttha), 𑀅𑀁𑀲𑁄𑀢𑁆𑀣 (aṃsŏttha), 𑀆𑀲𑁄𑀢𑁆𑀣 (āsŏttha)
  • Assamese: আঁহত (ãhot)
• Pali: assattha
• ⇒ Bengali: অশোত (ośōt), আশোত (aśōt)
• → Bengali: অশ্বত্থ (ośśottho) (learned)
• → Sinhalese: අශ්වත්ථ (aśwattha) (learned)

अश्वत्थ • (aśvattha) stem (Classical Sanskrit)

1. relating to the नक्षत्र (nakṣatra) of the same name

• Monier Williams (1899) “अश्वत्थ”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 115.