त्रासदी (Hindi)

Where does "त्रासदी" come from?

Trāsadī is a modern Hindi coinage that blends traditional Sanskrit roots with the phonetic influence of the English word 'tragedy.' It stems from the Proto-Indo-European root *tres-, meaning 'to tremble with fear,' which evolved into the Sanskrit word for terror or dread. This ancient foundation was adapted into a new form to mirror the European concept of tragedy, which itself originally evolved from the Ancient Greek term for a 'goat song' performed in dramatic festivals.

Full etymology tree

त्रासदी (trāsadī) (Hindi), 'tragedy'
- derived trāsada (Sanskrit)
  - compound trāsa (Sanskrit)
    - inherited *trasas (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
      - inherited *tros-o-s (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *tres- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to tremble (with fear)'
  - suffix -da (Sanskrit)
- suffix -ī (Sanskrit)
- calque tragedy (English), 'A drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of character.'
  - inherited tragedie (Middle English), 'tragedy (type of dramatic work)'
    - borrowed tragedie (Old French)
      - borrowed tragoedia (Latin), 'tragedy'
        borrowed τραγῳδία (tragōidía) (Ancient Greek), 'a tragedy or heroic play'
        derived τραγῳδός (tragōidós) (Ancient Greek), 'tragic poet and singer'
        compound τράγος (trágos) (Ancient Greek), 'billy-goat'
        derived τράγω (trágō) (Ancient Greek), 'Doric form of τρώγω (trṓgō)'
        suffix -os (Ancient Greek)
        compound ἀοιδή (aoidḗ) (Ancient Greek), 'feminine nominative/vocative singular of ᾰ̓οιδός (ăoidós)'
        inherited *awoidos (Proto-Hellenic)
        derived ἀείδω (aeídō) (Ancient Greek), 'to sing, chant, praise'

Ancestors

त्रस् (Sanskrit)
*tres- (Proto-Indo-European)
त्रासद (Hindi)
ई (Hindi)
tragedy (English)

Updated May 2026

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