Etymograph

English

bhajan

Bhajan comes from Hindi भजन ‘devotional song, hymn, bhajan’, from Sanskrit भजन ‘the act of sharing, distribution’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂g-1‘to divide, distribute, allot’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*bʰag-2reconstructed
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEभज्1bhaj‘to distribute, divide’
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEभजन3‘the act of sharing, distribution’
  5. Hindic. 1500–presentभजन4bhajan‘devotional song, hymn, bhajan’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1885bhajan4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit भजन
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Sanskrit भज्
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Hindi भजन
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English bhajan
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1885, A.L.O.E: “"No, there was never a school," said the child;…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂g-Wiktionary, Sanskrit भजन‘to divide, distribute, allot’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*bʰag-Wiktionary, Sanskrit भज्reconstructed
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEभज्Wiktionary, Sanskrit भजनbhaj‘to distribute, divide’
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEभजनWiktionary, Hindi भजन‘the act of sharing, distribution’
  5. Hindic. 1500–presentभजनWiktionary, English bhajanbhajan‘devotional song, hymn, bhajan’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1885bhajanWiktionary, English bhajan. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1885, A.L.O.E: “"No, there was never a school," said the child;…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- ‘to divide, distribute, allot’

book, sarcophagus, bagh, bhagat, bhakti, 3 more

Today it means

noun A type of Indian devotional song.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bhajan”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Sanskrit भजन, Sanskrit भज्, Hindi भजन. 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 *bʰeh₂g- / bhajan

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