Etymograph

English

bhoot

Bhoot comes from Hindi भूत ‘ghost, spirit’, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰuHtás ‘become, been’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-1‘to be’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*bʰuHtás1‘become, been’reconstructed
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEभूत2bhūta
  4. Hindic. 1500–presentभूत2bhūt‘ghost, spirit’
  5. Englishtodaybhoot2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit भूत
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English bhoot

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-Wiktionary, Sanskrit भूत‘to be’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*bʰuHtásWiktionary, Sanskrit भूत‘become, been’reconstructed
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEभूतWiktionary, English bhootbhūta
  4. Hindic. 1500–presentभूतWiktionary, English bhootbhūt‘ghost, spirit’
  5. EnglishtodaybhootWiktionary, English bhoot

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be’

be, been, power, possible, future, present, build, physical, improve, presence, essential, bond, bush, bound, absence, contribution, physician, entity, approve, probability, absent, favorable, distribute, contributor, fiat, bun, favourable, booth, bouquet, retribution, attribution, imp, rebuke, impossibility, bower, impotent, aren, beamer, bosque, phylogeny, 84 more

Today it means

noun A supernatural creature, usually the ghost of a deceased person.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bhoot”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Sanskrit भूत. 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 *bʰuH- / bhoot

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