karma (English)
Where does "karma" come from?
The English word 'karma' is a direct borrowing from the Sanskrit 'kárma'[1]. This term serves as the nominative singular form of the noun 'kárman', which originally denoted an 'act', 'action', or 'performance'[1]. Its ultimate ancestry reaches back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*kʷer-', which linguists often reconstruct with the core meaning of 'to carve' or 'to shape by cutting'[2]. First entering the English lexicon in 1785 through a translation of the Bhagavad Gita by Charles Wilkins, the word has since evolved from its religious roots in the cycle of rebirth to encompass broader connotations of destiny, fate, and even the popularity scores found on modern digital forums[1].
Open questions
- The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European meaning is based on evidence from Anatolian forms. [2]
Full etymology tree
- karma (English), 'The sum total of a person's actions, which determine the person's next incarnation in samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth.'
- borrowed कर्म (kárma) (Sanskrit), 'nominative/accusative singular of कर्मन् (kárman)'
- derived कर्मन् (kárman) (Sanskrit), 'an act, action, performance, business; work, labour, activity'
- derived *kʷer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'
- derived कर्मन् (kárman) (Sanskrit), 'an act, action, performance, business; work, labour, activity'
- borrowed कर्म (kárma) (Sanskrit), 'nominative/accusative singular of कर्मन् (kárman)'
Ancestors
- *kʷer- (Proto-Indo-European)
- कर्म (Sanskrit)
Descendants and derived words
- duskarma (English)
- instant karma (English)
- karma farm (English)
- karma farmer (English)
- karmaic (English)
- karmaless (English)
- karma-marga (English)
- karma's a bitch (English)
- karma whore (English)
- karma whore (English)
- karma-yoga (English)
- karmic (English)
Sources
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris