वणिज्

• बणिज् (baṇíj), वणिज (vaṇija)

Uncertain. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wen(h₁)-h₂ǵ-, composed of *wenh₁- (“to win”) + *h₂eǵ- (“to drive, lead”).^[1][2] Compare वनोति (vanóti), particularly in the meaning “to acquire”, and अजति (ájati, “to drive”), respectively.

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ʋɐ.ɳíd͡ʑ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ʋɐ.ɳid͡ʑ/

वणिज् • (vaṇíj) stem, m

1. merchant, trader, businessman
   • c. 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.112.11:

     याभिः॑ सुदानू औशि॒जाय॑ व॒णिजे॑ दी॒र्घश्र॑वसे॒ मधु॒ कोशो॒ अक्ष॑रत् ।
     क॒क्षीव॑न्तं स्तो॒तारं॒ याभि॒राव॑तं॒ ताभि॑रू॒ षु ऊ॒तिभि॑रश्वि॒ना ग॑तम् ॥

     yā́bhiḥ sudānū auśijā́ya vaṇíje dīrgháśravase mádhu kóśo ákṣarat.
     kakṣī́vantaṃ stotā́raṃ yā́bhirā́vataṃ tā́bhirū ṣú ūtíbhiraśvinā́ gatam.

     With those aids by which, beauteous donors, the cloud was made to shed its sweet water, for Dīrgháśravas, for the merchant Aukṣija, and by which you protected the devout Kakṣīvat; with them, Aśvins, come willingly hither.

2. (astrology, astronomy) the zodiacal sign Libra
   • 550 CE, Varāhamihira, Bṛhat Saṃhitā
3. trade, traffic, commerce, merchanthood
   • c. 300 BCE, Gautama Dharmasūtra 2.1.49.1:

     वैश्यस्याधिकं कृषिवणिक्पाशुपाल्यकुसीदम् ॥

     vaiśyasyādhikaṃ kṛṣivaṇikpāśupālyakusīdam.

     Farming, commerce, herdsmanship and usury is more for a Vaiśya.

   • c. 200 BCE – 200 CE, Manusmṛti
     )

• वणिज्या (vaṇijyā́, “trade”)
• वाणिज (vāṇijá)
• वाणिज्य (vā́ṇijya)
• वाणिज्यक (vāṇijyaka, “trader”)

• Prakrit: 𑀯𑀡𑀺 (vaṇi)

• Monier Williams (1899) “वणिज्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 0915.
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “vaṇíj”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 655
• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “वणिज्”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan, page 1383