वच्

Sanskrit

Alternative forms

  • उच् (uc)samprasāraṇa form
  • वोच् (voc)from the aorist stem

Alternative scripts

Etymology

    From Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (to speak). Cognates include Middle Dutch gewāgen (to speak), Latin vōx (voice), Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps, voice) and Persian آواز (âvâz, voice).

    Pronunciation

    Root

    वच् • (vac)

    1. to say, speak, utter
    2. to proclaim, declare
    3. to recite
    4. to revile [with accusative]
      • c. 500 BCE – 100 BCE, Rāmāyaṇa
      • (Can we date this quote?), The Buddha, Dhammapada(pāḷi) (subsequently translated from Pali to Sanskrit), Yamakavagga, page 26; republished in The Eighteenth Book in the Suttanta-Pitaka: Khuddaka-Nikāya[1], Colombo, 2009:
        3 ආක්‍රොශන‍්මාමවොචන‍්මාම ජයන‍්මාමහාපයත්
        අත්‍ර යෙ උපනහ්‍යන‍්තෙ වෛරං තෙෂාං න ශාම්‍යති
        3 Ākrośanmāmavocanmāma jayanmāmahāpayat
        Atra ye upanahyante vairaṃ teṣāṃ na śāmyati.
        They abused me, they reviled me, they defeated me and plundered me.
        Hatred does not subside for those who nurse grudges thus.
        (Wiktionary translation adapted from translation of the Pali by Ajahn Sujato.)

    Usage notes

    This root supplies tenses for ब्रू (brū), which only has a present stem.

    Derived terms

    Sanskrit terms belonging to the root वच् (0 c, 16 e)
    Terms derived from the Sanskrit root वच् (7 c, 0 e)
    Primary Verbal Forms
    Secondary Forms
    • उच्यते (ucyáte) (Passive)
    • अवाचि (ávāci) (Passive Aorist)
    • वाचयति (vācayati) (Causative)
    • अवीवचत् (avīvacat) (Causative Aorist)
    • वाच्यते (vācyate) (Passive of Causative)
    • विवक्षति (vivakṣati) (Desiderative)
    • विवक्ष्यते (vivakṣyate) (Passive of Desiderative)
    • वावचीति (vāvacīti) (Intensive)
    Non-Finite Forms
    • उक्त (uktá) (Past Participle)
    • वक्तुम् (váktum) (Infinitive)
    • वक्तवे (váktave) (Infinitive)
    • वक्तोस् (váktos) (Infinitive)
    • उक्त्वा (uktvā) (Gerund)
    • वाच्य (vā́cya) (Gerundive)
    • वक्तव्य (vaktavyà) (Gerundive)
    • वचनीय (vacanīya) (Gerundive)
    • वक्त्व (váktva) (Gerundive)
    • वाचयितव्य (vācayitavya) (Causative Gerundive)
    • विवक्षु (vivakṣu) (Desiderative Participle)
    Derived Nominal Forms
    Prefixed Root Forms
    • अतिवच् (ativac)
    • अधिवच् (adhivac)
    • अनुवच् (anuvac)
    • अभिवच् (abhivac)
    • आवच् (āvac)
    • उपवच् (upavac)
    • निर्वच् (nirvac)
    • परावच् (parāvac)
    • प्रतिवच् (prativac)
    • प्रवच् (pravac)
    • विवच् (vivac)
    • संवच् (saṃvac)

    References

    • Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “vac”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
    • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎[2] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 489-491