स्निह्

Sanskrit

Alternative forms

• स्नेह् (sneh)

Alternative scripts

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *sneygʷʰ- (“to snow”). The meaning of "to love, be attached" may have evolved from a secondary slang meaning of snow: "to stick, remain", referring to the nature of snow, as well as "whitish bodily fluids which are compared to snow, notably snot and spit", to stick to itself. Another example in this context is semen. This offers two senses of development:

• as a simile of companionship, love: "sticking with someone"
• as a euphemism for the act of making love, involving body fluids: "sticky like snow"

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /sniɦ/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /s̪n̪iɦ/

Root

स्निह् • (snih)

1. to be adhesive or sticky or glutinous or viscid or moist, to be adherent, to cling
2. to be fixed upon
3. to be attached to or fond of, feel affection for, love
4. to make unctuous or greasy or moist
5. to render pliant or subject, subdue
6. to kill, slay

Derived terms

Noun

स्निह् • (snih) stem, f

1. wetness, moisture

Declension

Grammarians also allow nominative singular on -ट (-ṭ).

Adjective

स्निह् • (snih) stem

1. loving, affectionate

Declension

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “स्निह्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 1267/1.
• William Dwight Whitney, 1885, The Roots, Verb-forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language, Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, page 195