Etymograph

English

sravaka

Sravaka comes from Sanskrit श्रावक ‘holy disciple’, from श्राव ‘hearing, listening’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-1‘to hear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlu-1reconstructedzero-grade of *ḱlew-
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEश्रु2śru‘to listen, hear’
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEश्राव3‘hearing, listening’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEश्रावक4śrāvaka‘holy disciple’
  6. Englishtodaysravaka4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit श्रु
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Sanskrit श्राव
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Sanskrit श्रावक
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English sravaka

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-Wiktionary, Sanskrit श्रु‘to hear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlu-Wiktionary, Sanskrit श्रुreconstructedzero-grade of *ḱlew-
  3. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEश्रुWiktionary, Sanskrit श्रावśru‘to listen, hear’
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEश्रावWiktionary, Sanskrit श्रावक‘hearing, listening’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEश्रावकWiktionary, English sravakaśrāvaka‘holy disciple’
  6. EnglishtodaysravakaWiktionary, English sravaka

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’

listen, client, loud, scout, linn, leer, lithe, umlaut, 12 more

through Sanskrit श्रु ‘to listen, hear’

shruti, 1 more

Today it means

noun A holy disciple.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sravaka”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Sanskrit श्रु, Sanskrit श्राव, Sanskrit श्रावक. 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 *ḱlew- / sravaka

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