Word journey

The word mantra

a sacred formula; an instrument of thought

The journey

FormLanguageDateSense
*men-Proto-Indo-European (reconstructed) · Proto-Indo-European Religionundatedto think; reconstructed root (+ instrument suffix *-trom)
*mántramProto-Indo-Iranian (reconstructed)undatedinstrument of thought, sacred formula; reconstructed
mántraVedic Sanskrit · Historical Vedic Religion1,200 BCEhymn, sacred formula
mąθraAvestan · Zoroastrianism1,000 BCEholy word, sacred utterance (Gathas)
mantraEnglish · Hinduism1808 CEHindu sacred formula; later a repeated slogan

What is certain and what is not

Sanskrit mantra and Avestan manthra share an Indo-Iranian original, so the word is older than either tradition. Scholars put the shared form around 2000 BCE.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, "Mantra"
  2. Wikipedia, "Mantra"
  3. Wikipedia, "Mantra"
  4. Wikipedia, "Mantra"
  5. Wiktionary, "mantra" (etymology)
Open it in the living atlas