Etymograph

English

adharma

Adharma comes from Sanskrit अधर्म ‘unrighteousness, wickedness, demerit, guilt,…’, from धर्म ‘that which is established or firm, steadfast…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to hold, support’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-1‘to hold, support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰér-mos1reconstructed
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEधर्म2‘that which is established or firm, steadfast decree, statute, ordinance, law’
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEअधर्म3adharma‘unrighteousness, wickedness, demerit, guilt, injustice, sin, irreligion’
  5. Englishtodayadharma3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit धर्म
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Sanskrit अधर्म
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English adharma

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-Wiktionary, Sanskrit धर्म‘to hold, support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰér-mosWiktionary, Sanskrit धर्मreconstructed
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEधर्मWiktionary, Sanskrit अधर्म‘that which is established or firm, steadfast decree, statute, ordinance, law’
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEअधर्मWiktionary, English adharmaadharma‘unrighteousness, wickedness, demerit, guilt, injustice, sin, irreligion’
  5. EnglishtodayadharmaWiktionary, English adharma

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to hold, support’

drug, dark, dry, firm, drama, throne, drain, dare, drone, feasible, drastic, refrain, formidable, darn, dazed, dor, dern, 42 more

Today it means

noun That which is not in accord with dharma, i.e. wrong, immorality, and wickedness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “adharma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Sanskrit धर्म, Sanskrit अधर्म. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- / adharma

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