English
dharma
Dharma comes from Sanskrit धर्म ‘that which upholds or supports’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-1‘to hold’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰér-mos1reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEधर्म2dhárma‘that which upholds or supports’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016dharma2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit धर्म
- 2 Wiktionary, English dharma
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Wikipedia contributors, Five Vows: “Jain ethical code prescribes two dharmas or rules of…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-Wiktionary, Sanskrit धर्म‘to hold’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰér-mosWiktionary, Sanskrit धर्मreconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEधर्मWiktionary, English dharmadhárma‘that which upholds or supports’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016dharmaWiktionary, English dharma. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Wikipedia contributors, Five Vows: “Jain ethical code prescribes two dharmas or rules of…”
The story
The definitions pertaining to Buddhism are influenced by dhamma, a loan word from Pali.
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with dharma, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to hold, support’
- drug ← drogge ← drogue ← droge ← *drōgi
- dry ← drye ← drȳġe ← *drūgī ← *drūgiz
- dark ← derk ← deorc ← *derk ← *dʰerg-
- firm ← firma ← firmare ← firmo ← firmus
- drama ← δρᾶμα ← δράω ← darýti ← *dʰor-éyeti
- throne ← trone ← trone ← thronus ← θρόνος
- drain ← *dreinen ← drēahnian ← *drauhnōn ← *drauhnōną
- dare ← durren ← durran ← *durʀan ← *durzaną
- drone ← drounen ← *drunnjan ← *drunjaną
- feasible ← fesable ← facere ← fere ← *feros
- drastic ← δραστικός ← δρᾶσις ← δράω ← darýti
- refrain ← refreynen ← refrener ← refrēnāre ← frēnāre
47 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun The natural order of the universe; natural law, cosmic order.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “dharma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Sanskrit धर्म. 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 *dʰer- / dharma