तुलसी

See also: तुळस

Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit तुलसी (tulasī).

Pronunciation

(Delhi) IPA^(key): /t̪ʊl.siː/

Noun

तुलसी • (tulsī) f (Urdu spelling تلسی)

holy basil

Declension

Declension of *तुलसी* (fem ī-stem)
	singular	plural
direct	तुलसी tulsī	तुलसियाँ tulsiyā̃
oblique	तुलसी tulsī	तुलसियों tulsiyõ
vocative	तुलसी tulsī	तुलसियो tulsiyo

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

তুলসী (Assamese script)
ᬢᬸᬮᬲᬷ (Balinese script)
তুলসী (Bengali script)
𑰝𑰲𑰩𑰭𑰱 (Bhaiksuki script)
𑀢𑀼𑀮𑀲𑀻 (Brahmi script)
တုလသီ (Burmese script)
તુલસી (Gujarati script)
ਤੁਲਸੀ (Gurmukhi script)
𑌤𑍁𑌲𑌸𑍀 (Grantha script)
ꦠꦸꦭꦱꦷ (Javanese script)
𑂞𑂳𑂪𑂮𑂲 (Kaithi script)
ತುಲಸೀ (Kannada script)
តុលសី (Khmer script)
ຕຸລສີ (Lao script)
തുലസീ (Malayalam script)
ᢠᡠᠯᠠᠰ᠌ᡳᡳ (Manchu script)
𑘝𑘳𑘩𑘭𑘲 (Modi script)
ᢐᠤᠯᠠᠰᠢᠢ (Mongolian script)
𑦽𑧔𑧉𑧍𑧓 (Nandinagari script)
𑐟𑐸𑐮𑐳𑐷 (Newa script)
ତୁଲସୀ (Odia script)
ꢡꢸꢭꢱꢷ (Saurashtra script)
𑆠𑆶𑆬𑆱𑆵 (Sharada script)
𑖝𑖲𑖩𑖭𑖱 (Siddham script)
තුලසී (Sinhalese script)
𑩫𑩒𑩽𑪁𑩑𑩛 (Soyombo script)
𑚙𑚰𑚥𑚨𑚯 (Takri script)
துலஸீ (Tamil script)
తులసీ (Telugu script)
ตุลสี (Thai script)
ཏུ་ལ་སཱི (Tibetan script)
𑒞𑒳𑒪𑒮𑒲 (Tirhuta script)
𑨙𑨃𑨬𑨰𑨁𑨊 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

Borrowed from Dravidian, ultimately from Proto-Dravidian *tuḷacV.

Pronunciation

(Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /t̪u.l̪ɐ.s̪iː/

Noun

तुलसी • (tulasī) stem, f

basil (a sacred plant for Vaishnavas)

Declension

Feminine ī-stem declension of तुलसी
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	तुलसी (tulasī)	तुलस्यौ (tulasyau)	तुलस्यः (tulasyaḥ)
accusative	तुलसीम् (tulasīm)	तुलस्यौ (tulasyau)	तुलसीः (tulasīḥ)
instrumental	तुलस्या (tulasyā)	तुलसीभ्याम् (tulasībhyām)	तुलसीभिः (tulasībhiḥ)
dative	तुलस्यै (tulasyai)	तुलसीभ्याम् (tulasībhyām)	तुलसीभ्यः (tulasībhyaḥ)
ablative	तुलस्याः (tulasyāḥ)	तुलसीभ्याम् (tulasībhyām)	तुलसीभ्यः (tulasībhyaḥ)
genitive	तुलस्याः (tulasyāḥ)	तुलस्योः (tulasyoḥ)	तुलसीनाम् (tulasīnām)
locative	तुलस्याम् (tulasyām)	तुलस्योः (tulasyoḥ)	तुलसीषु (tulasīṣu)
vocative	तुलसि (tulasi)	तुलस्यौ (tulasyau)	तुलस्यः (tulasyaḥ)

Descendants

→ Bengali: তুলসী (tulśi)
→ Hindi: तुलसी (tulsī)
→ Kannada: ತುಲಸಿ (tulasi)
Marathi: तुळस (tuḷas)

References

Monier Williams (1899) “तुलसी”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 451, column 3.
Mayrhofer, Manfred (2001) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 3, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 252
Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “tulasī”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 336

Further reading

Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “tulasī”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.