English
rishi
Rishi comes from Sanskrit ऋषि ‘a rishi: a singer of sacred hymns, an inspired…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-Iranian *r̥šíš ‘seer’.
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*r̥šíš1‘seer’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEऋषि1ṛ́ṣi‘a rishi: a singer of sacred hymns, an inspired poet or sage’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005rishi1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English rishi
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Salman Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown: “In the beginning Max had no idea she was…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*r̥šíšWiktionary, English rishi‘seer’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEऋषिWiktionary, English rishiṛ́ṣi‘a rishi: a singer of sacred hymns, an inspired poet or sage’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005rishiWiktionary, English rishi. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Salman Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown: “In the beginning Max had no idea she was…”
The story
From Sanskrit ऋषि (ṛ́ṣi), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *r̥šíš (whence Avestan 𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬴𐬌𐬴 (ərəṣ̌iṣ̌, “seer”)), probably related to अर्षति (árṣati, “to flow, pour”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’
Today it means
noun A Vedic poet and seer who composed Rigvedic hymns, who alone or with others invokes the deities with poetry of a sacred character.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “rishi”. 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-Iranian *r̥šíš / rishi