dvandva

D2V4A1N1D2V4A1

noun

A copulative or coordinative type of compound in which members, if not compounded, would be in the same case and connected by the conjunction and. Common in languages such as Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese, but less so in English.

OriginSanskrit द्वंद्व →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

noundvandva (plural dvandvas)

plural dvandvas

  1. human sciencesA copulative or coordinative type of compound in which members, if not compounded, would be in the same case and connected by the conjunction and. Common in languages such as Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese, but less so in English.

    Tatpuruṣa and dvandva compounds regularly have a single gender, that of the final constituent, although a subgroup of dvandvas has the gender of the first constituent.

    2003, Dhanesh Jain, George Cardona, The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge, page 153

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
cocompound

Origin

  1. Sanskritद्वंद्व
  2. Englishdvandva

Borrowed from Sanskrit द्वंद्व (dvaṃdvá).

More words from Sanskrit

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

dvandva. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dvandva

MLA

“dvandva.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dvandva. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dvandva,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dvandva.

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