varna (English)
Where does "varna" come from?
The English noun 'varna' enters the language from Sanskrit 'वर्ण' ('várṇa'), which originally meant 'colour', 'tint', 'dye', 'pigment', 'appearance', or 'aspect'[1]. This Sanskrit term traces back through Proto-Indo-Iranian '*wárnas' to the Proto-Indo-European root '*wer-' meaning 'to cover'[2]. The root is further linked to the Sanskrit verbal root 'वृणोति' ('vṛṇoti'), meaning 'to choose' or 'select'[1].
Open questions
- The further etymology of the Proto-Indo-Aryan and Proto-Indo-Iranian verb forms is uncertain and possibly a merger of verbs from three distinct Proto-Indo-European roots. [3]
Full etymology tree
- varna (English), 'any of the four original castes in Hinduism, or the system of such castes'
- borrowed वर्ण (várṇa) (Sanskrit), 'covering, cloak, mantle'
- derived वृणोति (vṛṇoti) (Sanskrit), 'to cover, screen, veil, conceal, hide, envelop, obstruct'
- inherited *wr̥náwti (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- inherited *wr̥náwti (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *wr̥náwti (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- inherited *wárnas (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *wer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to burn'
- derived वृणोति (vṛṇoti) (Sanskrit), 'to cover, screen, veil, conceal, hide, envelop, obstruct'
- borrowed वर्ण (várṇa) (Sanskrit), 'covering, cloak, mantle'
Sources
- varna (English) - Wiktionary
- वर्ण (várṇa) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
- वृणोति (vṛṇoti) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris