कल (Hindi)
Where does "कल" come from?
The Hindi word 'कल' (kal) traces back to the Sanskrit 'kalya,' which originally referred to the dawn or daybreak. Over time, this evolved through the Prakrit 'kallaṃ' to take on adverbial meanings related to time, eventually encompassing both the day before and the day after today. It remains a fascinating example of how a word associated with the arrival of the morning expanded to capture the broader, indefinite flow of the past and future.
Full etymology tree
- कल (kal) (Hindi), 'yesterday'
- inherited कल्लम् (kallaṃ) (Prakrit)
- inherited कल्यम् (kalyam) (Sanskrit), 'at dawn, at daybreak'
- derived कल्य (kalya) (Sanskrit), 'well, healthy, free from sickness'
- inherited कल्यम् (kalyam) (Sanskrit), 'at dawn, at daybreak'
- inherited कल्लम् (kallaṃ) (Prakrit)
Ancestors
- कल्यम् (Sanskrit)
Cognates and doublets
- কাল (Bengali)
- काल (Marathi)
- ਕੱਲ੍ਹ (Punjabi)
Updated June 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris