क्षीर

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Etymology

    From Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšiHrám (milk). Cognate with Avestan 𐬑𐬱𐬎𐬎𐬌𐬛- (xšuuid-), Northern Kurdish şîr, Persian شیر (šir), Zazaki şıd, şıt. Originally thought to be from Proto-Indo-European *swēyd- (milk), but Lubotsky claims a borrowing from the BMAC substrate.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    क्षीर • (kṣīrá) stemn

    1. milk, thickened milk
      Synonyms: दुग्ध (dugdhá), पयस् (payas)
      • c. 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE, Ṛgveda 9.67.32:
        पावमानीर्यो अध्येत्यृषिभिः सम्भृतं रसम् ।
        तस्मै सरस्वती दुहे क्षीरं सर्पिर्मधूदकम् ॥
        pāvamānīryo adhyetyṛṣibhiḥ sambhṛtaṃ rasam.
        tasmai sarasvatī duhe kṣīraṃ sarpirmadhūdakam.
        Whoever reads the essence stored by saints, the Pavamani hymns,
        Sarasvatī draws forth for him water and butter, milk and meath.
      • c. 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE, Atharvaveda
    2. the milky juice or sap of plants

    Declension

    Neuter a-stem declension of क्षीर
    singular dual plural
    nominative क्षीरम् (kṣīrám) क्षीरे (kṣīré) क्षीराणि (kṣīrā́ṇi)
    क्षीरा¹ (kṣīrā́¹)
    accusative क्षीरम् (kṣīrám) क्षीरे (kṣīré) क्षीराणि (kṣīrā́ṇi)
    क्षीरा¹ (kṣīrā́¹)
    instrumental क्षीरेण (kṣīréṇa) क्षीराभ्याम् (kṣīrā́bhyām) क्षीरैः (kṣīraíḥ)
    क्षीरेभिः¹ (kṣīrébhiḥ¹)
    dative क्षीराय (kṣīrā́ya) क्षीराभ्याम् (kṣīrā́bhyām) क्षीरेभ्यः (kṣīrébhyaḥ)
    ablative क्षीरात् (kṣīrā́t) क्षीराभ्याम् (kṣīrā́bhyām) क्षीरेभ्यः (kṣīrébhyaḥ)
    genitive क्षीरस्य (kṣīrásya) क्षीरयोः (kṣīráyoḥ) क्षीराणाम् (kṣīrā́ṇām)
    locative क्षीरे (kṣīré) क्षीरयोः (kṣīráyoḥ) क्षीरेषु (kṣīréṣu)
    vocative क्षीर (kṣī́ra) क्षीरे (kṣī́re) क्षीराणि (kṣī́rāṇi)
    क्षीरा¹ (kṣī́rā¹)
    • ¹Vedic

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Dardic:
      • Dameli: [script needed] (c̣hīr)
      • Gawar-Bati: [script needed] (c̣hir)
      • Kalami: [script needed] (c̣hīr, milk, udder)
      • Kalasha: č̣hir
      • Khowar: ݯھیر (c̣hír)
      • Phalura: ڇھیر (c̣hīr)
      • Savi: [script needed] (c̣hir)
      • Shumashti: [script needed] (c̣hīr)
      • Torwali: ڇھی (c̣hī)
    • Southern:
      • Helu Prakrit: 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀺 (kiri)
      • Maharastri Prakrit: 𑀔𑀻𑀭 (khīra)
        • Marathi: खीर (khīr), शिरें (śirẽ, caudle for puerperal women of coconut milk)
    • Northern:
    • Eastern:
      • Magadhi Prakrit: 𑀔𑀻𑀭 (khīra)
        • Assamese: খীৰ (khir)
        • Bengali: ক্ষীর (khir), খীর (khir)
        • Odia: ଖିରି (khiri), ଖିର (khira, milk, juice from trees), ଖିରା (khirā, inspissated milk)
        • Sylheti: ꠈꠤꠞ (kír)
    • Western:
      • Paisaci Prakrit:
        • Punjabi: ਖੀਰ (khīr)
          • Lahnda: کھِیر (khīr)
        • Sindhi:
          Arabic script: کِيرُ
          Devanagari script: खीरु
    • Pali: khīra
    • Central:
      • Sauraseni Prakrit: 𑀔𑀻𑀭 (khīra)
        • Domaaki: [script needed] (c̣hīr)
        • Gujarati: ખીરું (khīrũ)
        • Hindustani:
          Hindi: खीर (khīr)
          Urdu: کھیر (khīr)
        • >? Romani: khil
    • → Proto-Nuristani:
      • Waigali: [Term?] (c̣hīr, sour milk)
    • Telugu: క్షీరము (kṣīramu) (learned)

    References

    • Monier Williams (1899) “क्षीर”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, [], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 329/3.
    • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎[1] (in German), volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 433