Exploring the Linguistic Similarities Between English Language and Sanskrit

Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that has had a significant influence on many modern languages, including Romani, Russian, and English. Here’s a schematic representation of how these languages relate to Sanskrit:

Sanskrit is a member of the larger Indo-European language family, which includes languages such as Greek, Latin, and Slavic languages. Romani, which is spoken by the Roma people (Gypsies), is a language that evolved from an ancestral language known as Domari, which has been heavily influenced by Sanskrit. Russian, as well as other Slavic languages, has also been influenced by Sanskrit, particularly in terms of vocabulary. Finally, English has borrowed a significant number of words from Sanskrit, particularly in the areas of religion, philosophy, and science.

Here are some similar words.

English Word	Transliterated Sanskrit	Devanagari Sanskrit	Detailed Meaning
ass	āsa	आस	seat, the lower part of the body, behind, posteriors
attic	aṭṭaka	अट्टक	an apartment on the roof
bumble bee	bambhara	बम्भर	a bee
char	cūr	चूर	to burn
cruel	krūra	क्रूर	cruel, fierce, ferocious, pitiless, harsh
dumb	ḍimbha	डिम्भ	an idiot, an infant
estate	astatāti	अस्तताति	home
genuine	jenya	जेन्य	genuine, true
hunter	hantṛ	हंतृ	a slayer, killer
cook	kuka	कुक	a cook
litter	lita	लित	broken, torn asunder, scattered, dispersed, destroyed
little	liṭya	लिट्य	to be little
look	lok	लोक	to see, behold, perceive
mad	mad	मद	to rejoice, be glad, exult, delight or revel in, be drunk (also fig.)
mass	masa	मास	measure, weight
meet	mith	मिथ	to unite, pair, couple, meet (as friend or antagonist)
money	maṇi	मणि	jewel, gem, pearl (also fig.)
omen	oman	ओमन	help, protection
overlook	avalok	अवलोक	to look upon or at, view, behold, see, notice, observe
owl	ālu	आलु	an owl
pence	paṇasa	पणस	a commodity, an article of sale or commerce
posh	poṣa	पोष	thriving, prosperity, abundance, wealth, growth, increase
press	preṣ	प्रेष	to drive on, urge, impel, send forth
proud	prauḍha	प्रौढ	proud, arrogant, confident, bold, audacious, impudent
rite	rīti	रीति	general course or way, usage, custom, practice, method, manner
sad	sāda	साद	sinking down, exhaustion, weariness
saint	santa	सन्त	true, real, actual, genuine, sincere, honest, truthful, faithful, pure, virtuous, good, successful, effectual, valid
scale	sakala	सकल	consisting of parts, divisible

English Word	Transliterated Sanskrit	Devanagari Sanskrit	Meaning
shallow	śarāva	शराव	a shallow cup, dish, plate, platter
shock	śoka	शोक	sorrow, affliction, anguish, pain, trouble, grief for
Sir	sūri	सूरि	a learned man, sage
smart	samartha	समर्थ	very strong or powerful, competent, capable of, able to
spy	spaś	स्पश्	one who looks or beholds, a watcher, spy
stale	sthālika	स्थालिक	the smell of faeces
stupor, stupid	sthāpita	स्थापित	caused or made to stand, fixed
swear	svṛ	स्वृ	(also written {svar}) to utter a sound, sound, resound
jump	jhampa	झम्प	a jump
urge	ūrj	ऊर्ज्	to strengthen, invigorate
use	yuj	युज्	to make ready, prepare, arrange, fit out, set to work, use, employ
wax	vakṣ	वक्ष्	to grow, increase, be strong or powerful
win	van	वन्	to conquer, win, become master of, possess
wish	vaś	वश्	to desire, wish, long for, be fond of, like
toll	tul	तुल्	to lift up, raise
toss	tas	तस्	to throw
union	yūni	यूनि	connection, union
urgent	ūrjita	ऊर्जित	endowed with strength or power, important
vest	veṣṭ	वेष्ट्	to dress, to wrap up, envelop, enclose, surround, cover, invest, beset
wage	vāja	वाज	the prize of a race or of battle, booty, gain, reward
wagon	vahana	वहन	a square chariot with a pole
varnish	varṇ	वर्ण्	to paint, colour, dye
wed	voḍha	वोढ	led home married
zebra	śabara	शबर	variegated, brindled