Etymograph

English

anusvara

Anusvara comes from Sanskrit अनुस्वार ‘anusvara, the "after-sound"’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *swer- ‘to resound’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swer-1‘to resound’reconstructed
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEस्वर्2‘to sound’
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEअनुस्वार3anusvā́ra‘anusvara, the "after-sound"’
  4. Englishtodayanusvara3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit स्वर्
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Sanskrit अनुस्वार
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English anusvara

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swer-Wiktionary, Sanskrit स्वर्‘to resound’reconstructed
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEस्वर्Wiktionary, Sanskrit अनुस्वार‘to sound’
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEअनुस्वारWiktionary, English anusvaraanusvā́ra‘anusvara, the "after-sound"’
  4. EnglishtodayanusvaraWiktionary, English anusvara

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *swer- ‘to resound’

answer, swear, sworn, swarm, 18 more

Today it means

noun A diacritic used in Indic scripts as a nasal consonant.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “anusvara”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Sanskrit स्वर्, Sanskrit अनुस्वार. 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 *swer- / anusvara

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