Etymograph

English

tirtha

Tirtha comes from Sanskrit तीर्थ ‘ford’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-1‘to cross over’reconstructed
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEतीर्थ2tīrtha‘ford’
  3. Englishtodaytirtha2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit तीर्थ
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English tirtha

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-Wiktionary, Sanskrit तीर्थ‘to cross over’reconstructed
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEतीर्थWiktionary, English tirthatīrtha‘ford’
  3. EnglishtodaytirthaWiktionary, English tirtha

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over’

through, enter, trans, thorough, avatar, tram, tranquillity, tardy, torus, sarai, 19 more

Today it means

noun A site of pilgrimage.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tirtha”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Sanskrit तीर्थ. 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 *terh₂- / tirtha

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