Etymograph

English

darshan

Darshan comes from Sanskrit दर्शन ‘vision’, from दृश् ‘to see’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *derḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*derḱ-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*darć-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*darś-1reconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEदृश्2dṛś‘to see’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEदर्शन2darśana‘vision’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2002darshan2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit दृश्
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English darshan
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, S. Brent Plate, Religion: “A common sight in India is a crowd of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*derḱ-Wiktionary, Sanskrit दृश्‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*darć-Wiktionary, Sanskrit दृश्reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*darś-Wiktionary, Sanskrit दृश्reconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEदृश्Wiktionary, English darshandṛś‘to see’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEदर्शनWiktionary, English darshandarśana‘vision’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2002darshanWiktionary, English darshan. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, S. Brent Plate, Religion: “A common sight in India is a crowd of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *derḱ- ‘to see’

dragon, drake, dragoon, tarragon, 5 more

Another origin of darshan

  1. Hebrew1880s–presentדַּרְשָׁןdarshán‘an expert in scriptural interpretation’
  2. Englishtodaydarshan

Today it means

noun Hierophany, theophany; being in the presence of the divine or holy (as a person or object).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “darshan”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Sanskrit दृश्. 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 *derḱ- / darshan

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