Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Vṛddhi

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Vṛddhi (Sanskrit: वृद्धि, [ˈʋr̩d̪d̪ʰi]) is a Sanskrit word meaning 'growth' (from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰ- 'to grow').

In Pāṇini's Sanskrit grammar, it is a technical term for long vowels produced by ablaut (vowel gradation), as for example in:

  • bhṛ-tá- 'carried' ("base form", nowadays called zero grade)
  • bhár-aṇa- 'burden' (guṇa, full grade)
  • bhār-yà- 'to be carried' (vṛddhi, lengthened grade)

    • In modern Indo-European linguistics it is used in Pāṇini's sense, but not restricted to Sanskrit but applicable to the Indo-European languages in general as well as to the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language from which this feature was inherited:

  • *bʰr̥- (zero grade of the reconstructed verb meaning 'to carry')
  • *bʰer- (full grade)
  • *bʰēr- (vṛddhi, lengthened grade)

    • Vṛddhi-derivations

    A vṛddhi-derivation or vṛddhi-derivative is a word that is derived by such lengthening, a type of formation very common in Sanskrit, but also attested in other languages. Such derivatives signify "of, belonging to, descended from". An example:

  • PIE *swéḱuro- 'father-in-law' (Vedic Sanskrit śváśura-) → *swēḱuró- 'relating to one's father-in-law' (Vedic śvāśura- 'relating to one's father-in-law', Old High German swāgur 'brother-in-law')

    • Derivatives that are formed by inserting a full grade (as opposed to a lengthened grade) vowel into the "wrong" position of a zero grade are also called vṛddhi-derivations:

  • PIE *diw-, zero grade of *dyḗu-s 'sky' → *deiw-os 'god, sky god' (Vedic devás, Latin deus, etc.)

    • References

    Vṛddhi Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA