तमस

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *tamHas-ás (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *temHes-ós. Cognate with Avestan 𐬙𐬆𐬨𐬀𐬢𐬵𐬀 (təmaŋha).

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /tɐ.mɐ.sɐ́/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ˈt̪ɐ.mɐ.s̪ɐ/

त॒म॒स • (tamasá) stem

1. (Vedic) dark coloured, dark, darksome
   • c. 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE, Atharvaveda 11.9.22:

     ये च॒ धीरा॒ ये चाधी॑राः॒ परा॑ञ्चो बधि॒राश्च॒ ये
     त॑म॒सा ये च॑ तूप॒रा अथो॑ बस्ताभिवा॒सिनः॑।
     सर्वां॒स्ताँ अ॑र्बुदे॒ त्वम॒मित्रे॑भ्यो दृ॒शे कु॑रूदा॒रांश्च॒ प्र द॑र्शय ॥

     yé ca dhī́rā yé cā́dhīrāḥ párāñco badhirā́śca yé
     tamasā́ yé ca tūparā́ átho bastābhivāsínaḥ.
     sárvāṃstā́m̐ arbude tvámamítrebhyo dṛśé kurūdārā́ṃśca prá darśaya.

     The clever and the foolish ones, those who are twisted round, the deaf,
     The dusky-hued, the hornless goats and those whose voice is like the buck's,
     All these, O Arbudi, do thou make visible to our enemies: cause them to look on mists and fog.