Etymograph

English

charkha

Charkha comes from Classical Persian چرخ ‘wheel’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlos1‘wheel, circle’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*čakrám1‘wheel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*čaxrám1‘wheel’reconstructed
  4. Middle Persianc. 300 BCE–900 CE𐫝𐫍𐫡1chr /⁠čahr⁠/‘wheel, cycle’
  5. Classical Persianc. 900–presentچرخ1čarx‘wheel’
  6. Englishtodaycharkha1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English charkha

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlosWiktionary, English charkha‘wheel, circle’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*čakrámWiktionary, English charkha‘wheel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*čaxrámWiktionary, English charkha‘wheel’reconstructed
  4. Middle Persianc. 300 BCE–900 CE𐫝𐫍𐫡Wiktionary, English charkhachr /⁠čahr⁠/‘wheel, cycle’
  5. Classical Persianc. 900–presentچرخWiktionary, English charkhačarx‘wheel’
  6. EnglishtodaycharkhaWiktionary, English charkha

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos ‘wheel, circle’

cycle, wheel, cyclic, kike, cyclamen, 14 more

through Proto-Indo-Iranian *čakrám ‘wheel’

chakra, 4 more

Today it means

noun A domestic spinning wheel, used mostly for spinning cotton.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “charkha”. 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 *kʷékʷlos / charkha

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