Prakritism

P3R1A1K5R1I1T1I1S1M3
UK/ˈpɹɑːkɹɪtɪzəm/US/ˈpɹɑkɹɪtɪzəm/

noun

A (usually Sanskrit) word borrowed from a Prakrit, especially one showing the characteristic phonological developments separating the Prakrits from Sanskrit.

Scrabble 18

Meanings

nounPrakritism (plural Prakritisms)

plural Prakritisms

  1. A (usually Sanskrit) word borrowed from a Prakrit, especially one showing the characteristic phonological developments separating the Prakrits from Sanskrit.

    ¹ This constant use of sabbai in Chand may be nothing more than a Prakritism for the nom. pl. of Skr. sarvve.

    1872, John Beames, Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India, volumes II: The Noun and Pronoun, Trübner and Co., page 25
    2 more examples

    With this chapter we once more enter definitely into the sphere of Prakritism. In a considerable number of cases the variations seem to be, in fact, strictly Prakritic.

    1930, Maurice Bloomfield, Franklin Edgerton, “XIV: Vocalic Liquids and Other Vowels”, in Vedic Variants: A Study of the Variant Readings in the Repeated Mantras of the Veda, volume II: Phonetics, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, page 295

    Dukūla appears to be the name of a particular kind of textile and a yarn […] Some think that the term is a Prakritism for dvikūla, that is, a cloth with two borders. This is, however, unlikely, because of the use of the term for a kind of yarn.

    2020 January 2, Patrick Olivelle, “Long-distance trade in ancient India: Evidence from Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra”, in The Indian Economic and Social History Review, volume 57, number 1, SAGE, →DOI, page 39

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

Prakritism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Prakritism

MLA

“Prakritism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Prakritism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Prakritism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Prakritism.

Source: Prakritism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.