Etymology

Kali Yuga

Today it means: In Hinduism, the fourth and most evil of four stages of development that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas, traditionally thought to have begun at midnight (00:00) on 18 February, 3102 B.C.E. under the Julian calendar (23 January under the Gregorian calendar), and lasts for 432,000 years. Full definition →

Sanskrit कलियुग
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The story

  1. Sanskrit · borrowed fromकलियुग“age of darkness”
  2. English todayKali Yuga

Unadapted borrowing from Sanskrit कलियुग (kaliyuga, “age of darkness”), from कलि (kali, “Kali, Kalipurush, demon of corruption”) + युग (yuga, “yuga”). Some etymologies claim it was named after the worst throw in an ancient Indian dice game.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.