अमृत

Borrowed from Sanskrit अमृत (amṛ́ta).

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /əm.ɾɪt̪/,

अमृत • (amŕt) m (Urdu spelling امرت)

1. an elixir; a substance that gives immortality to the user
2. nectar

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *amŕ̥tas (“immortal”), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥mr̥tós (“immortal”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬆𐬱𐬀 (aməša, “immortal”), Ancient Greek ἄμβροτος (ámbrotos, “immortal”). Equivalent to अ- (a-) +‎ मृत (mṛta).

The nouns derive fairly readily from the adjective.

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ɐ.mŕ̩.tɐ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ɐˈmr̩.t̪ɐ/

अमृत • (amṛ́ta) stem

1. immortal, undying
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.35.2:

     आ कृ॒ष्णेन॒ रज॑सा॒ वर्त॑मानो निवे॒शय॑न्न् अ॒मृतं॒ मर्त्यं॑ च ।
     हि॒र॒ण्यये॑न सवि॒ता रथे॒ना दे॒वो या॑ति॒ भुव॑नानि॒ पश्य॑न् ॥

     ā́ kṛṣṇéna rájasā vártamāno niveśáyann amṛ́taṃ mártyaṃ ca.
     hiraṇyáyena savitā́ ráthenā́ devó yāti bhúvanāni páśyan.

     Advancing throughout the dusky firmament, laying to rest the immortal and the mortal,
     Borne in his golden chariot he cometh, Savitar, the God who looks on every creature.

2. imperishable, deathless, indestructible
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda
3. alive, not dead
   • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata
4. beautiful, pleasant
   • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata 12.39.16.2:

     पाञ्चजन्याभिषिक्तश्च राजामृतमुखोऽभवत् ॥

     pāñcajanyābhiṣiktaśca rājāmṛtamukhoʼbhavat.

     Bathed with the sanctified water of the shankha, the king became beautiful-faced.

• Pali: amata
  • → Thai: อมตะ (à-má-dtà)

अमृत • (amṛ́ta) stem, m

1. immortal, god
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda
   1. a name of Vishnu
      • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata
   2. a name of Shiva
2. kudzu, a vine of variety Pueraria montana var. lobata (syn. Phaseolus trilobus)

अमृत • (amṛ́ta) stem, n

1. immortality, elixir
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 10.129.2:

     न मृत्युर् आसीद् अमृतं न तर्हि न रात्र्या अह्न आसीत् प्रकेतः ।
     आनीद् अवातं स्वधया तद् एकं तस्माद् धान्यन् न परः किं चनास ॥

     na mṛtyur āsīd amṛtaṃ na tarhi na rātryā ahna āsīt praketaḥ.
     ānīd avātaṃ svadhayā tad ekaṃ tasmād dhānyan na paraḥ kiṃ canāsa.

     Death was not then, nor was there immortality: no sign was there, the day's and night's divider. That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever.

2. nectar, ambrosia, Soma
3. residue or leavings of a yajna
   • c. 200 BCE – 200 CE, Manusmṛti

• Prakrit: 𑀅𑀫𑀬 (amaya), 𑀅𑀫𑀺𑀬 (amiya), 𑀅𑀫𑀼𑀬 (amuya)
  • Assamese: অমিয়া (omia), অমিয় (omio)
  • Gujarati: અમી (amī)
  • Odia: ଅମିଅ (amia)
• Pali: amata
• → Assamese: অমিতা (omita)
• → English: amrita
• → Hindi: अमृत (amŕt)
• → Indonesian: amerta
• → Old Tamil: 𑀅𑀫𑀺𑀭𑁆𑀢𑀫𑁆 (amirtam), 𑀅𑀫𑀼𑀢𑀫𑁆 (amutam)
  • Tamil: அமிர்தம் (amirtam)
• → Polish: amrita
• → Thai: อมฤต (à-má-rít)

• Monier Williams (1899) “अमृत”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 82, column 2.
• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “अमृत”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan, page 205
• Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “amṛta”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.

From the middle voice of Proto-Indo-European *mért, athematic root aorist of *mer- (“to die”).

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ɐ́.mr̩.tɐ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ˈɐ.mr̩.t̪ɐ/

अमृत • (ámṛta) third-singular indicative (type A, aorist, root मृ) (Vedic)

1. aorist of मृ (mṛ, “to die”)

The Rigveda also has active subjunctive forms: 3sg. मराति (marāti) (with irregular long आ (ā)) and 3pl. मरन्ति (maranti).

From the subjunctive:

• Pali: marati
• Prakrit: 𑀫𑀭𑀇 (maraï) (see there for further descendants)

• Rix, Helmut, editor (2001), “*mer-”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben [Lexicon of Indo-European Verbs] (in German), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, →ISBN, pages 439-440
• Lubotsky, Alexander (2011) “mar”, in The Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress) (Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project), Leiden University, pages 301-302
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “máratē”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press
• Tedesco, P. (1944) “The Supposed Rigvedic Present márate” in Language 20, no. 4, pages 212–222