Etymograph

English

nibbana

Nibbana comes from Sanskrit निर्वाण ‘blowing out, extinction, cessation, setting,…’, from वान ‘blown’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂weh₁-1‘to blow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*HwaH-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*HwaH-1reconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEवा2vā‘to blow’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEवान3vāna‘blown’
  6. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEनिर्वाण4nirvāṇa‘blowing out, extinction, cessation, setting, vanishing, disappearance’
  7. Englishtodaynibbana4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit वा
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Sanskrit वान
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Sanskrit निर्वाण
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English nibbana

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂weh₁-Wiktionary, Sanskrit वा‘to blow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*HwaH-Wiktionary, Sanskrit वाreconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*HwaH-Wiktionary, Sanskrit वाreconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEवाWiktionary, Sanskrit वानvā‘to blow’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEवानWiktionary, Sanskrit निर्वाणvāna‘blown’
  6. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEनिर्वाणWiktionary, English nibbananirvāṇa‘blowing out, extinction, cessation, setting, vanishing, disappearance’
  7. EnglishtodaynibbanaWiktionary, English nibbana

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’

event, winter, weather, wind, wing, van, athletic, athlete, velocity, ventilation, ventilate, 7 more

through Sanskrit निर्वाण ‘blowing out, extinction, cessation, setting,…’

nirvana, 1 more

Today it means

noun Synonym of nirvana.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nibbana”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Sanskrit वा, Sanskrit वान, Sanskrit निर्वाण. 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 *h₂weh₁- / nibbana

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