ލޮބަ (Dhivehi)

Where does "ލޮބަ" come from?

The Dhivehi noun 'ލޮބަ', meaning 'mercy, compassion, pity' or 'sorrow, sympathy', traces its ancestry back to Sanskrit 'लोभिन्' (lobhin)[1], which stems from 'लोभ' (lobha)[2]. The root of these terms goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*lewbʰ-', meaning 'to care, desire'[4]. Along the way, it shares a history with the Sanskrit suffix '-इन्' (-in)[2], and it has a doublet in Dhivehi in the words 'ލޮބު' (lobu) and 'ލޯބި' (lōbi). Additionally, the word is cognate with the Sinhalese form 'ලොබ' (loba).

Open questions

• The ultimate connection to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root '*lewbʰ-' is based on linguistic reconstruction. [3] [4]

Full etymology tree

• ލޮބަ (loba) (Dhivehi), 'mercy, compassion, pity'
  • inherited लोभिन् (lobhin) (Sanskrit), 'greedy or desirous of, longing for, eager after'
    • derived लोभ (lobha) (Sanskrit), 'perplexity, confusion'
      • derived लुभ् (lubh) (Sanskrit), 'to desire'
        • inherited *lewbʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to desire, covet, want (someone or something)'
    • suffix -इन् (-in) (Sanskrit), 'possessing, showing possession, doer'

Ancestors

• लोभिन् (Sanskrit)

Cognates and doublets

• ލޯބި (Dhivehi)

Sources

1. ލޮބަ (loba) (Dhivehi) - Wiktionary
2. लोभिन् (lobhin) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
3. लुभ् (lubh) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
4. लोभ (lobha) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris