धन

See also: धनु, धन्, धुनु, धेनु, धोना, धूना, and धनी

Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit धन (dhána).

Pronunciation

(Delhi) IPA^(key): /d̪ʱən/, [d̪ʱɐ̃n]

Noun

धन • (dhan) m (Urdu spelling دھن)

money
Synonym: पैसा (paisā)
wealth, riches
Synonym: दौलत (daulat)

उसने सारा धन पुत्रों में बाँट दिया।
usne sārā dhan putrõ mẽ bā̃ṭ diyā.
He divided all his wealth among his sons.
natural resources
(mathematics) plus sign
(chemistry, in compounds) positive charge
Synonym: धनावेश (dhanāveś) (independently)

Declension

Declension of धन (masc cons-stem)
	singular	plural
direct	धन dhan	धन dhan
oblique	धन dhan	धनों dhanõ
vocative	धन dhan	धनो dhano

Derived terms

कालाधन (kālādhan)
धन-दौलत (dhan-daulat)
धनी (dhanī)

References

Platts, John T. (1884) “धन”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

ধন (Assamese script)
ᬥᬦ (Balinese script)
ধন (Bengali script)
𑰠𑰡 (Bhaiksuki script)
𑀥𑀦 (Brahmi script)
ဓန (Burmese script)
ધન (Gujarati script)
ਧਨ (Gurmukhi script)
𑌧𑌨 (Grantha script)
ꦣꦤ (Javanese script)
𑂡𑂢 (Kaithi script)
ಧನ (Kannada script)
ធន (Khmer script)
ຘນ (Lao script)
ധന (Malayalam script)
ᢡᠠᠨᠠ (Manchu script)
𑘠𑘡 (Modi script)
ᢑᠾᠠᠨᠠ᠋ (Mongolian script)
𑧀𑧁 (Nandinagari script)
𑐢𑐣 (Newa script)
ଧନ (Odia script)
ꢤꢥ (Saurashtra script)
𑆣𑆤 (Sharada script)
𑖠𑖡 (Siddham script)
ධන (Sinhalese script)
𑩮𑩯 (Soyombo script)
𑚜𑚝 (Takri script)
த⁴ந (Tamil script)
ధన (Telugu script)
ธน (Thai script)
དྷ་ན (Tibetan script)
𑒡𑒢 (Tirhuta script)
𑨜𑨝 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰenh₂-

Sanskrit धन् (dhan)

Sanskrit धन (dhana)

The term has been derived from the root धन् (dhan, “to run, move quickly”). In a literal sense, it refers to a running race, but came to mean any contest or strife as a result of semantic generalization. By further extension, it connotes anything that is contested or striven for, viz. prize, booty, wealth, treasure.^[1] The root धन् (dhan) is from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰanH-,^[2] from Proto-Indo-European *dʰenh₂- (“to run, flow”).^[3]

Pronunciation

(Vedic) IPA^(key): /dʱɐ́.nɐ/
(Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /d̪ʱɐ.n̪ɐ/

Noun

धन • (dhána) stem, n

contest, race, strife, fight
- c. 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE, Ṛgveda 8.5.26:
  यथो॒त कृत्व्ये॒ धनें॒ऽशुं गोष्व॒गस्त्य॑म्।
  यथा॒ वाजे॑षु॒ सोभ॑रिम्॥
  yáthotá kṛ́tvye dháneṃʼśúṃ góṣvagástyam.
  yáthā vā́jeṣu sóbharim.
  (As you protected) Amśu in decisive fight, and Agastya in the fray for cattle.
the prize of a contest; booty
- c. 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE, Ṛgveda 10.84.7:
  संसृ॑ष्टं॒ धन॑म् उ॒भयं॑ स॒माकृ॑तम॒स्मभ्यं॑ दत्तां॒ वरु॑णश्च म॒न्युः।
  भियं॒ दधा॑ना॒ हृद॑येषु॒ शत्र॑वः॒ परा॑जितासो॒ अप॒ नि ल॑यन्ताम्॥
  sáṃsṛṣṭaṃ dhánam ubháyaṃ samā́kṛtamasmábhyaṃ dattāṃ váruṇaśca manyúḥ.
  bhíyaṃ dádhānā hṛ́dayeṣu śátravaḥ párājitāso ápa ní layantām.
  For spoil let Varuṇa and Manyu give us the wealth of both sides gathered and collected;
  And let our enemies with stricken spirits, overwhelmed with terror, slink away defeated.
any valued object, (especially) wealth, riches, money, treasure, gift
- Subhāṣita:
  विदेशेषु धनं विद्या व्यसनेषु धनं मतिः ।
  परलोके धनं धर्मः शीलं सर्वत्र वै धनम् ॥
  videśeṣu dhanaṃ vidyā vyasaneṣu dhanaṃ matiḥ.
  paraloke dhanaṃ dharmaḥ śīlaṃ sarvatra vai dhanam.
  In foreign lands, knowledge is wealth; in danger, intelligence is wealth;
  In the world beyond, righteousness is wealth; and indeed, character is wealth everywhere.
cows, cattle
Synonym: गोधन (godhana)
- c. 300 CE, Harivaṃśa
(arithmetic) affirmative quantity, plus; addition
(economics) capital

Declension

Neuter a-stem declension of धन
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	धनम् (dhánam)	धने (dháne)	धनानि (dhánāni) धना¹ (dhánā¹)
accusative	धनम् (dhánam)	धने (dháne)	धनानि (dhánāni) धना¹ (dhánā¹)
instrumental	धनेन (dhánena)	धनाभ्याम् (dhánābhyām)	धनैः (dhánaiḥ) धनेभिः¹ (dhánebhiḥ¹)
dative	धनाय (dhánāya)	धनाभ्याम् (dhánābhyām)	धनेभ्यः (dhánebhyaḥ)
ablative	धनात् (dhánāt)	धनाभ्याम् (dhánābhyām)	धनेभ्यः (dhánebhyaḥ)
genitive	धनस्य (dhánasya)	धनयोः (dhánayoḥ)	धनानाम् (dhánānām)
locative	धने (dháne)	धनयोः (dhánayoḥ)	धनेषु (dháneṣu)
vocative	धन (dhána)	धने (dháne)	धनानि (dhánāni) धना¹ (dhánā¹)

¹Vedic

Derived terms

धनिन् (dhanín)
निर्धन (nirdhana, “poor”)

Descendants

Pali: dhana
Prakrit: 𑀥𑀡 (dhaṇa)
→ Bengali: ধন (dhon)
→ Hindi: धन (dhan)
→ Malay: dana
- Indonesian: dana
→ Punjabi: ਧਨ (dhan)

References

^ Monier Williams (1899) “धन”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 508, column 2.
^ Lubotsky, Alexander (2011) “dhanⁱ”, in The Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress) (Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project), Leiden University
^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) “DHAN¹”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume I, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 772

[1] Monier Williams (1899) “धन”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 508, column 2.

[2] Lubotsky, Alexander (2011) “dhanⁱ”, in The Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress) (Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project), Leiden University

[3] Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) “DHAN¹”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume I, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 772

[1]

[2]

[3]