पहला (Hindi)
Where does "पहला" come from?
The Hindi word 'पहला' (pahila), meaning 'first,' traces its roots to the Sanskrit word 'prathamá.' Over time, the original ordinal suffix was replaced by the Middle Indo-Aryan ending '-illa,' leading to the forms found in Ashokan and Sauraseni Prakrit. This evolution perfectly illustrates how linguistic structures shift while maintaining their core meaning over millennia.
Full etymology tree
- पहला (Hindi), 'first'
- inherited पहिल (Sauraseni Apabhramsa)
- inherited 𑀧𑀳𑀺𑀮 (pahila) (Sauraseni Prakrit)
- inherited *𑀧𑁆𑀭𑀣𑀺𑀮𑁆𑀮 (*prathilla) (Ashokan Prakrit)
- derived प्रथम (prathamá) (Sanskrit), 'foremost, first (in time or in a series or in rank)'
- inherited *pratamás (Proto-Indo-Iranian), 'first'
- compound *pró (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *pér (Proto-Indo-European), 'through'
- affix *-o (Proto-Indo-European), 'Adverbial suffix indicating direction'
- compound *-tm̥mós (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *-tm̥mós (Proto-Indo-European)
- compound *pró (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *pratamás (Proto-Indo-Iranian), 'first'
- affix -𑀇𑀮𑁆𑀮 (-illa) (Middle Indo-Aryan)
- derived प्रथम (prathamá) (Sanskrit), 'foremost, first (in time or in a series or in rank)'
- inherited *𑀧𑁆𑀭𑀣𑀺𑀮𑁆𑀮 (*prathilla) (Ashokan Prakrit)
- inherited 𑀧𑀳𑀺𑀮 (pahila) (Sauraseni Prakrit)
- inherited पहिल (Sauraseni Apabhramsa)
Ancestors
- प्रथम (Sanskrit)
Descendants and derived words
- पहले (Hindi)
Updated July 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris