Etymograph

English

mahila

Mahila comes from Hindi महिला ‘lady, female, woman’, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *maȷ́ʰā́ ‘big’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂s1‘big, great’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*maȷ́ʰā́1‘big’uncertain
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमहिला2‘a woman, a female’
  4. Hindic. 1500–presentमहिला3mahilā‘lady, female, woman’
  5. Englishtodaymahila3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit महिला
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Hindi महिला
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English mahila

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂sWiktionary, Sanskrit महिला‘big, great’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*maȷ́ʰā́Wiktionary, Sanskrit महिला‘big’uncertain
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEमहिलाWiktionary, Hindi महिला‘a woman, a female’
  4. Hindic. 1500–presentमहिलाWiktionary, English mahilamahilā‘lady, female, woman’
  5. EnglishtodaymahilaWiktionary, English mahila

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s ‘big, great’

major, master, mayor, magnitude, magnum, maxim, magnate, magnify, mair, mickle, maggiore, muckle, 15 more

Today it means

noun Woman or women.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mahila”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Sanskrit महिला, Hindi महिला. 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 *méǵh₂s / mahila

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